What Your Child’s Summer Camp May Not Be Telling You

Parents should think twice about sending their kids to a YMCA summer camp this summer if they don’t want their daughters to be forced to share a cabin with a gender-confused boy, a watchdog group warned Tuesday.

YMCA summer camps across the country have implemented policies that make cabin assignments contingent on gender identity and offer so-called “all gender cabins” in the name of inclusivity. In an alert first shared with The Daily Wire, the American Parents Coalition called for parents to be vigilant about the policies in place at their local YMCA camp. 

“As we enter into another summer camp season, YMCA camps across the country are still allowing males into girls’ cabins, showers, and private spaces,” Alleigh Marré, the group’s executive director, told The Daily Wire. “The dedication to embracing and promoting transgender ideology continues to be a priority.”

The “lookout” issued by the American Parents Coalition on Tuesday urged parents to review their local YMCA’s policies and advocate for changes to gender-identity-based access policies. The YMCA’s official website features a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement that identifies “gender identity” as one of its priorities for inclusion. 

Last summer, the YMCA scrubbed guidance from its website saying that its campers should have access to bathrooms and cabins based on their gender identities after the American Parents Coalition launched a similar campaign. 

Even after that move, many local YMCA camps still have policies in place giving preference to gender identity. 

For example, at the Sherman Lake YMCA in Michigan, policies dictate that “campers are assigned to cabins based on their identified gender” and note that an “all-gender cabin is available during select sessions.” 

“We do not ask any camper to ‘prove’ their gender. Doing so would be discriminatory and is not consistent with our policies or values,” the camp says on its webpage. 

Sherman Lake YMCA also appears to say it would keep parents out of the loop if a child starts identifying as a different gender while at camp. 

“If a camper shares information about their identity while at camp, we respect their privacy and autonomy,” its policies say. “We will only share this information with caregivers if the camper gives express consent, unless there is a concern related to the health or safety of the camper or others.”

Other camps have similar policies, including Camp Hazen in Connecticut, which boasts of “Gender Inclusive” cabin policies that include “girls+” and “boys+” options. 

“The ‘+’ reflects our commitment to inclusion — these spaces welcome cisgender, trans*, and non-binary youth who feel most comfortable in that environment,” the camp says. 

Similarly in New York, Camp Gorham offers “girl+” cabins as a “space for girls, trans and non-binary campers who feel most comfortable living with girls” and “Boy+ Cabins” for “boys, trans and non-binary campers who feel most comfortable living with boys.”

At Camp Shady Brook in Colorado, the YMCA suggests that it must allow males into female spaces because of state law. It says on its website that it is required “to allow members to use the facilities they identify with, as gender identity is a protected class.” 

This policy translates over to the camp where cabins and bathrooms are allowed on the basis of “preference” and “gender identity.” 

“Access to gendered spaces (e.g. restrooms, overnight accommodations) will be on the basis of gender identity and preference,” the Camp Shady Brook website says. “Gender assigned at birth, physical characteristics, or presentation will not dictate use of gendered space.”

Camp Olson in Minnesota boasts about a similar policy, saying that it has an “all gender” cabin option, but also offers male and female cabins based on “gender preference.” 

“Cabin assignments will be made based on cabin gender preference (male-identifying, female-identifying, gender expansive, or no preference), as identified on their camper application,” the camp’s website says. “If parents/guardians do not select a cabin gender preference, cabin assignments will be made based on gender identity.”

That page appears to have been deleted after The Daily Wire reached out for comment.

At the same time, it allows transgender-identifying individuals to use either male or female restrooms, according to its posted policies. 

Other camps, like Camp Conrad Weiser in Pennsylvania, offer specific “Pride” camps as a “a safe-space, non-gendered village where they can form lasting bonds through their shared stories,” and where “social justice” conversations can take place. 

Marré said her organization would continue to pressure the YMCA until they ensured girls did not have to share spaces with boys. 

“When we exposed their dangerous gender policies last year, the YMCA’s response wasn’t to protect children, but instead to quietly scrub the evidence from their websites,” Marré told The Daily Wire. “American Parents Coalition will not stop demanding accountability until the YMCA policies protect safety and privacy in girls’ spaces and respect familial decisions and values.”