Boys Summer Camps of the Northeastern United States

Introduction | Literature Review| Data and Analysis | Conclusion| Sources | Storymap

Studying children’s geographies helps researchers understand our past constructions of space according to the social discourses of the time. Spaces are not static, rather they are shaped by the people that occupy them. Children influence and experience the spaces designed for them in their own unique ways, but ultimately they are mostly confined to what is chosen for them by adults. This is why studying summer camps is a valuable pursuit. Ultimately, summer camp is a lifestyle choice, and the camp a child is sent to depends greatly on their parents values. Summer camps were physical manifestations of these values. They separated boys physically from the city, transporting them into the wilderness where supposedly camp programming, a healthy amount of sun and nature could transform them into manly men. This indicates that nature was associated with masculinity, and that the ideal boys progressed naturally through the stages of human development—leaving their primal phase behind—and became modern men. This theory carries racist connotations, in that white children were seen to be the most evolved of all the races. It is also important to make clear that while camps were falsely appropriating the names and traditions of the Indigenous tribes in the area, the real Indigenous children were forced out of their land and into residential schools for the same qualities that were celebrated in white children. These appropriations are still present in summer camps today.

Although in nature, camps were not natural spaces. They were constructed and monitored by camp leaders, and contained strict hierarchical structures. Campers were expected to abide by these rules, where counselors were in charge, and campers were divided into groups. Children learned collaboration and leadership through these social rules, shared living spaces, and team activities. The camp amenities such as shelter and food were designed to be natural and rugged, but without any real hardship. Activities encouraged children to be active in their bodies. They swam, played sports, hiked and camped, and learned about nature. While adults had their own motives for how summer camps could develop growing boys, the children took this space that was very different from their middles class, city lives, and used it to have fun, clarify their values, and gain a sense of pride in their camp accomplishments. In the future, I would like to add future research on more specialized camps and extend this project to include other regions of the US. It would also be interesting to look at camps from 1940 onwards, and understand camps’ historical progression until the present.