Maggie Moynihan, who identifies as a lesbian and queer woman, is a freshman majoring in youth studies in the College of Education and Human Development. She says she found a sense of community last summer at a camp for queer youth.
“I went to this camp last summer. It was for queer youth, and it was about five days long for anyone from 7 to 17 years old. I was 17 last summer, so that was going to be my last chance to go. It was three hours away from my house, in a pretty rural area — no electronics allowed.
And the entire week was amazing, just being around people who I knew I could be comfortable around. All of the counselors and all the campers were queer. And they had everything, all nine yards. I had never been to a sleepover camp at all, so this being my first experience was amazing.
One night – it was a surprise – they told us we were going to have a queer prom, which was such a huge thing to all of us.
In my school, if you were going to prom, it certainly couldn’t be with someone the same gender as you. You were supposed to blend in, and I was that really shy kid at school. I wouldn’t dance at these events anyway.
But at this one camp, it felt like we were dancing for hours. They had a costume room that we all got to go into and you could wear anything you wanted. Everyone was allowed to wear the dresses. They had suits. They had Halloween costumes. Anything you wanted.
We all put on these crazy-looking outfits and went out and were all dancing together. It was all music we knew — not pop music or anything, but the songs we had listened to throughout our lives and in our little circles.
It was such an amazing night, and I think everyone was feeling almost euphoric. It felt like there was nothing else in the world but us dancing. We all knew so much about each other and there was no judgment.
When it all ended, we went outside onto this baseball field and sat in the grass. Some kids were playing dodgeball, and the rest of us were laying down looking at the sky. There were hundreds of fireflies all around us. It was just one of my happiest moments. I’d do anything to relive that.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview conducted by Emma Dehm.