Today’s youth are faced with responsibilities and concerns that didn’t exist years ago. Girls especially are put in a position of pressure in almost every aspect of their lives. Whether it’s a Photoshopped celebrity giving them unrealistic images of how they “should” look, a popular icon telling them how they “should” act, or friends at school convincing them of what they “should” be interested in, one thing is certain – being a young girl is not an easy job.

  • 74% of girls say they are under pressure to please everyone.
  • 98% of girls feel there is an immense pressure from external sources to look a certain way.
  • 1 in 4 girls today falls into a clinical diagnosis – depression, eating disorders, cutting and other mental and emotional disorders.
  • Many more report being constantly anxious, sleep deprived and under other significant pressure.

In comes camp.

In a society that is so quick to point girls and young women to a direction, define them and tell them who they are, camp creates an environment that does away with those constraints and pre-conceived ideas. It is an opportunity to remove labels from activities and actions and allow girls to create definitions through the lenses of a relationship with nature and not the lenses of relationship to gender. It allows a girl to develop strength – both physical and mental. It provides a space where adults treat them as an equal and provides a space that allows them to define who they are.

Spending time at a co-educational, overnight summer camp is beneficial for everyone; however, we see time and time again that parents of girls are more reluctant to send their child to camp. But there are huge benefits of girls attending camp:

  • The “Selfs”: Self-worth. Self-image. Self-esteem. Self-reliance. There is a raw, exposed, but nurturing, aspect to overnight camp. We know girls begin deciding they need to fit into some labeled box around the 4th grade. The camp culture does not allow for labeled boxes. Instead it thrives on the exposed “here-in-the-moment” skills and talents girls have, and allows them to thrive with them. This process is so important to increasing the “selfs” that girls constantly struggle with.
  • Level Playing Field: It’s important that girls learn to play and informally interact with boys – which they can do at camp. It’s not as formal as school, and all of the activities are just as much for girls as for boys, and vice versa. After all, girls and boys are going to interact in the workplace, the classroom and life together, so they should learn how to play together. Too often, play is segregated by gender– baseball teams, softball teams, etc. At camp, girls and boys are on a level playing field.
  • Adult Role Models: Camp provides an adult role model that is not family or a media superstar. At a time when you feel acceptance is so contingent on performance – school or otherwise –and achievement, camp counselors are there to support you no matter what. The relationships built between counselor and camper provides an accepting female adult who welcomes you as you are. For girls, especially those in households that might be male-dominated, sometimes having one week with an older, responsible female figure can change the course of a life for the better.
  • Relationship Building: *Boys and girls are wired differently. Not better or worse, just different – including how they build relationships.  Boy: “You like baseball? I like baseball. We’re best friends now.” Girls, however, require more verbal interactions. Camp is a great opportunity to meet other girls with like interests. It is a place to practice building deep, rich relationships with people outside of your family. It helps deflect the “mean girls” mentality that youth can get wrapped up in because when you are flying down a zip line or waist deep in a bog fishing, those “things” that can fill a young person’s mind with doubt and self-conscious thoughts quiet.

At camp, it doesn’t matter where you live, what your parents do, where you go to school, or whether you’re a girl or a boy – everyone is a camper.

So girls should go to camp for the same reason boys go to camp – to experience the outdoors and learn about nature, to try new activities or get better at activities they already enjoy, to gain independence and self-confidence and to learn to be a part of a group, working and playing side-by-side. Camp is the great equalizer. 

*Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. “With Boys and Girls in Mind,” Educational Leadership, Nov. 2004. Sax, Leanoard (2005). Why Gender Matters. New York: Broadway Books

Christina Middlebrook is the Vice President for the council’s Outdoor Division at Camp Fire First Texas. She has extensive experience with classroom teaching, environmental stewardship and out-of-school time programming. Christina holds a Master of Arts in science education and several certifications including an Educational Leadership Certification from Harvard, a Nonprofit Management Certification from University of Texas- Austin, two teaching certificates and a Professional Development and Appraisal Systems Certificate from TEA.