Camp. One set of four letters, widely divergent meanings to different groups. Don't think these essays, from the queer-studies, and mostly queer, people listed above are in any way insensible of this dichotomy. It gets played with a lot.

One note I'll give you before you even think about reading the collection: Read Sontag's <I>Notes on Camp</I> before you get into these weeds. Everyone herein reproduced has, says so, and/or refers to that work. Besides it's well worth reading just because.

Academocs are famous for writing at each other, Essays and articles in their specialist subjects used a shared vocabulary that most of us do not share. That's certainly true of this collection's contents. Yet I've given it four stars. That's all down to the fact that the essayists have all tied their thoughts either to pop-cultural texts like Mielke and Trevarrow's engrossing "Camping with Walt Disney’s <I>Paul Bunyan</I>: An Essay Short" and Kyle Eveleth's "Striking Camp: Empowerment and Re-Presentation in <I>Lumberjanes</I>", which might be my favorite essay in the whole thing; or to experiences of going to summer camp that I could relate to, like D. Gilson's "Notes on Church Camp" which was a tough read for me.

What I got from this assemblage of academic thought about youthful queerness was the striking, clarifying bolt of insight that I was supposed to feel the exclusion and rejection of camp. It was meant to, designed to, cause this Otherness I knew I had to be thrown (verb not chosen lightly) into high relief. I was *intended* to feel the hostility of my peers so I would buckle down and try to be like them.

Fat chance.

The other reason for a boy like me to go to camp, to be a camper, was to show to the other boys that I was fair game. As long as I failed at their tasks, it was okay to be cruel...it was expected. "Letting the kids sort themselves out" was the way the appalling cruelty of it was sold to parents.

That has never been clearer than after reading these stories of queer camping experiences. I don't know who among the readers of my blog will most likely want to spend the high price of the collection; I hope that, for anyone interested in the subject, their local library will step in and add this to the extant sociology texts, or if you live in an enlightened place, their queer studies collection.

As an anthology, I did not love this book, but there were a couple of essays that resonated with me. However, this may be because as a Puerto Rican, my experiences with camps and camping were very different than those described within its pages.

Queer as Camp: Essays on Summer, Style, and Sexuality, edited by Kenneth B Kidd & Derritt Mason, explores the intersection of camp(ing) and sexuality from a broad range of approaches.

Just to start with a disclaimer, I never went to summer camp, not the kind that usually come to mind (cabins in the woods, structured activities, etc), so my engagement with the book is lacking that element. That said, because the essays touch on portrayals of camps and camping in popular culture as well as situations I could relate to from other types of camps, my deprived childhood did not keep me from both enjoying and connecting with the collection. So if you never attended a typical (whatever that might mean) summer camp this book still has a lot to offer.

Like any collection from different writers it is uneven. That probably carries the wrong connotation, the essays don't vary greatly in quality, they vary in who they may appeal to. I was fully engaged with several (to the point of rereading them after a couple days of thinking about what I had read). I found several more quite interesting but not really anything I really connected with. Then there were a few I thought were probably better than I give them credit for, they simply didn't speak to me, no fault of the essay itself. Such is the nature of a broad collection of essays.

There is a fair amount of theory involved but I felt like the writers, for the most part, expressed what they were using in a way that most readers without a lot of theory can still follow the ideas and arguments. Knowing some of the theories does, of course, help with your internal arguing with the writers but isn't necessary to appreciate and understand the majority of the essays.

The area of interest to me involves the intersection of the ages of campgoers (still learning who they are and becoming, hopefully, comfortable with that), the interplay between campers who identify across the sexuality spectrum (for some, a chance to see who they are, through homosocial activity, even if they think they already know), and how other aspects of each person's identity (race, ethnicity, religion, even regional identity) plays into it. This collection touches on these issues, some explicitly and some more peripherally, but always offering new perspectives and approaches.

I think anyone who went to summer camp regularly will enjoy this. Certainly anyone whose interests include gender, sexuality, and group behavior will find a lot to like here.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Queer as Camp is a niche book for readers. Me. I’m one of those readers. It’s a book where queer readers can see themselves in the stories and contemplate their own camp experiences as well as think critically about camp externally. The essays are superlatively written, and a few require deeper knowledge of queer studies than I have. Yet, the genuineness, complexity, and hilarity make this book a great read for those who have a love/hate relationship with camp. It is difficult to rate this book as some essays were more engaging to me than others (sapphic or religious), but overall as an anthology it provides a good cross section of topics! It may be a good idea to read “Notes on Camp” in it’s entirety now as nearly every author quotes it.

I have not had a chance to finish reading this book, but *phew* it is hitting home. Growing up, camp was my whole world. I lived for Summers. Thinking about camp is what got me through the year. Camp is as big of a part of my identity as anything else. I won't write my own novel here but I can talk about camp and what it means to me and so many others for days. Even though I haven't finished this particular book yet, I will be searching out a physical copy for my personal collection!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to find this beautiful book! 📚💕