My Problem with Evangelical Christian Camps

There's this one common theme that is prevalent in evangelical Christian camps, and I can't help but roll my eyes at it.

 

    Wow. For my first blog, I'm writing my opinion on a topic as controversial and potentially offensive as what I'm about to reveal. This is simply an opinion I want to get off my chest, so this post isn't going to be very long. Typically, I'd be a bit more sarcastic and relaxed, but this is an issue that I'm sincerely bothered by, and I also don't want to be blatantly offensive to people who disagree with me.

 

    Coming from my background, I think that I have a pretty unique outlook on this topic. Most people I know outside my family have a rather strongly positive opinion on this topic. But it wasn't until much later into my childhood that I learned about this concept.

 

    Okay, after I've built it up this much, let me finally drop what concept I'm referring to.

 

    Modesty

 

    Yes, the word that makes every feminist cower in the corner and plead for their freedom. The word that puts a filter on your closet. The word that makes you think of the early 1900s. This word is indeed a crowd shocker. (Definitely for me)

 

    Seriously. When I was growing up, I had never heard this word before. (I don't know, maybe I would've heard it if I was a girl, unfortunately.)  Did I know this concept existed? Somewhat. As a very young boy, my sister caught me staring at a rather erotic women's underwear ad in a mall, and she wasn't too happy about it. But I wasn't aware of a word can refer to a lifestyle where one feels they must cover their body to keep perverted heterosexual men's eyes off of them. It wasn't until I stepped into a conservative Christian school that I found out about the modesty movement. Since I wasn't introduced to this concept by my already Christian family, but rather by outside sources, I try to stay neutral about it.

 

    Now, enough rambling. What does this have to do with evangelical Christian camps?

Well, it has a lot to do with them, particularly their dress code section on their websites. I've read multiple camps' dress codes, and there is one common observation that I make every time.

 

    The girls, 100% of the time, have more (if not, stricter) dress guidelines than the boys.

 

    Yeah, yeah, I can go cry about it. But I can't help but be bothered by double standards like this.  Unfortunately, in our American culture, the female body has been over-sexualized. I believe this is one reason why some Americans are concerned about modesty, especially in religions or backgrounds where sexual advances before marriage is frowned upon. (Yes, I understand some Middle Eastern cultures and Islam also emphasize modesty.) In some sects of Christianity, modesty is strongly encouraged, and this idea is taken from I Timothy 2:9. (Since this post is controversial enough, I will not include my personal interpretation of this verse.)

 

    So, this whole idea of modesty has inspired many Christian camp hosts to have dress guidelines in the first place. Do I think this is inherently bad? Not necessarily. Many secular businesses have rules about required attire, like "no shirt, no shoes, no service." This rule shouldn't be hard for most people to follow. But Christian camps tend to take it a step further, like prohibiting shorts that are shorter than a person's fingertips when their arms are at their sides. Personally, this rule doesn't get on my nerves very much, seeing it's usually a unisex guideline at Christian camps. I actually see it as a win for Christian camps to allow shorts at all. Some Christian camps don't permit shorts, and may even prohibit girls and ladies from even wearing pants and force them to wear dresses or blouse-skirt outfits with knee-length hemlines.

 

    But here's where stuff gets real. Below, I pasted the guidelines of Crossings Jonathan Creek.

 

For the girls...
» Shorts need to be longer than fingertips when
arm is extended down the side of the leg.
» No spaghetti strap tank tops or any tops where
undergarments can be seen.
» Swimsuits must be one-piece with shorts/swim
shorts won over swimsuit at all times, even in the
water. If you do not have a one-piece swimsuit,
a dark t-shirt and shorts must be worn over a
tankini swimsuit at all times.
» Shirts must be worn over swimsuits at all times
when walking to and from the lake/pool.

 

For the boys...

» Shorts need to be longer than fingertips when
arm is extended down the side of the leg.
» No shirts with sides cut out.
» Shirts must be worn at all times on campus, even
when walking to and from the lake/pool. 

 

     Notice the deficit? I'd be surprised if you didn't. Firstly, like I mentioned before, boys and girls share the shorts rule. The boys can't wear "shirts with sides cut out," which I'm guessing is referring to cutout tops and tank tops. Girls can't wear spaghetti strap tank tops or "any tops where undergarments can be seen." So, they can wear tank tops as long as the straps aren't too thin? And dudes can't wear tank tops at all? This character-break is so unexpected that my mind is blown.

 

    But here's where things get interesting. Look at the rules for appropriate lake/pool attire. Oh wow, boys literally don't have any! However, both boys and girls must conceal their swimsuits when walking to and from these swim spots. But again, what I think is interesting is that boys have ZERO guidelines for swimsuits, technically permitting them to be shirtless while swimming. (Heck, it doesn't say they can't be naked.) On the contrary, girls must wear one-piece suits. Are women's' bodies scary or something? I don't understand, but like I stated earlier, American culture has over-sexualized the bodies of women, thus leading to some backgrounds treating women like their bodies are inherently inappropriate, which I'm deeply grieved by. Personally, if girls must cover their torso at the pool, I think the boys should too. 

 

    As I close, I want to mention that I'm not trying to diss anyone who has convictions like these. Personal convictions are totally okay, and I respect anyone who lives with convictions about how they ought to dress. What I want to show in this blog is my concern about how women and girls tend to be especially put down in modesty culture. However, in an imperfect world, negative cultural themes like female bodily sexualization will always exist. 

 

So with that, be kind, respect all people, and stay fair.

-Evan 

 

PS: I understand this blog was more about modesty than evangelical Christian camps, but some of my friends are going to a camp, and it made me think of camp dress guidelines, so I think the title choice is justified.