CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
I realized I was gay the summer I was 12, at an all-boys camp in northern Wisconsin with a peculiar abundance of nudity. As at most camps, all of the staff were suburban hippies, particularly my counselor Greg, an 18-year-old nature boy who openly mocked any camper who tried to wear his swimsuit in the group shower or sauna. The arrangement killed me -- I was a self-conscious and underdeveloped kid -- but I was really enjoying the hell out of Gregs enthusiastic naturism.
Campers were strenuously pressured to participate in the annual Jack Dawes run, which involved jogging naked from the cabins to the lake and jumping in. I wouldnt have thought I could do it, but with Gregs ass in front of me, my eyes remained firmly on the prize, any embarrassment lost in a confusing haze of adolescent lust. To this day, I cant smell patchouli without thinking of the overeager nudist.
I had my first sexual experience as a 16-year-old counselor, with an older counselor named Dan, one night camping out in the woods. Wed left the campers and met up with our friends; when we returned to the site, it was abandoned, with a note telling us there was a tornado warning and they had retreated to the main lodge. Dan was stoned and worked up from an evening playing spin the bottle, and we ended up hooking up. When he was finished, he freaked out, hitching up his pants and running deeper into the woods, leaving me to walk the mile back to the lodge alone, confused, and without a flashlight. We didnt really speak for the remainder of the summer.
Dan reintegrated with the other counselors, but I had a harder time. From then on, after the campers went to bed, I preferred to listen to my Walkman in solitude, opting not to participate in the counselor activities. Get a canoe paddle, theyd shout. Were going to streak Camp Beaver! But already I felt that I was not one of them.
Camp Camp by Roger Bennett & Jules Shell (Random House, $24.95) is in stores now.
Send a letter to the editor about this article.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
38 Male Celebs Who Did Full Frontal Scenes
November 17 2023 5:18 PM
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
December 31 2023 12:19 PM
29 LGBTQ+ celebs you can follow on OnlyFans
April 18 2024 1:00 PM
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
February 28 2024 1:50 PM
16 times male celebrities had to say they weren't gay
April 17 2024 11:57 AM
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
April 03 2024 4:01 PM
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
February 14 2024 10:20 AM
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
April 04 2024 12:56 PM
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
January 04 2024 10:54 AM
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
December 04 2023 10:32 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Manu Ríos & André Lamoglia's reunion is sending 'Élite' fans into a pit of thirst
April 23 2024 1:40 PM
Meet the queens of 'All Stars 9' — and the charities they'll be competing for
April 23 2024 12:00 PM
Photographic proof Pearl has one of the beast beards in the game
April 23 2024 10:26 AM
How the 'Challengers' screenwriter crafted one of this year's most delicious love triangles
April 23 2024 10:24 AM
Ranking the highest-earning queens in 'RuPaul's Drag Race' herstory
April 22 2024 7:29 PM
These are all the 'Drag Race' queens who won crowns in 2024 (so far)
April 22 2024 6:30 PM
'Ugliest House' host Retta is here to help make make America less drab & more fab
April 22 2024 5:19 PM
Nonbinary actor Emma Corrin makes their MCU debut in 'Deadpool & Wolverine' trailer
April 22 2024 5:04 PM
This is how many followers 'Drag Race' season 16 queens gained on IG
April 22 2024 4:35 PM
Surprise delivery! Designer Simon Jacquemus & hubby are officially daddies
April 22 2024 2:35 PM