Abstracts Anthropology

Crafting Healthy Conceptions of Masculinity

by Joseph David LaLiberte

At the turn of the 20th century and prior to assuming office, Theodore Roosevelt delivered his Strenuous Life speech, articulating what he described a "crisis of masculinity." In response, Roosevelt called for a return to the outdoors, advocating further development of American summer camps and outdoor programs for male youth to reconnect with nature and rekindle their masculine identities. Ironically, following the century-long expansion of the outdoor industry and the development of summer camps and outdoor education programs, researchers have identified a newfound crisis of masculinity, through which boys are at risk of being hyper-masculinized and losing touch with emotionality and gentleness. This project aims to utilize summer camp-based survey research to discover whether camps in America still serve as an outlet for boys to address this newfound crisis of masculinity. Major findings indicate that boys felt a higher expectation of stoicism and toughness at school versus at camp. Additionally, analyses by the five age cohorts at camp suggested that older boys generally felt greater expectations to be tough and avoid showing weakness at school, but less at camp. This research will analyse these differences in reference to other survey data and demographic information, in order to further understand the benefits of the camp experience, and how such findings can be applied in other childcare and education-based programs.