Camp is great and fantastic and wonderful, but can we recognize the privilege that white, cisgender, straight disabled people tend to have at camp that those of us multiply marginalized don't always experience in the same way if at all?

#DisabilityTwitter

I loved camp and it definitely saved my life, but I was also bullied. I was weird, probably because of undiagnosed ADD.

I also had outbursts/meltdowns and got into fights with counselors, probably because they were dealing with a child who lived in trauma every other second of the year. I didn't know how to properly express that I needed support and love.

I was also queer, and in my last few years, I had to find ways to hide that. It put a lot of stress on me to live that lie fully.

I was also harassed by the male campers who made fun of me. They mocked how I looked, fat-shamed me, considered me ugly and didn't make me forget that, and hated me because I was the poor kid who lived in a trailer park until I was nine.

Usually, the female campers were okay but one year there was definitely a girl who made my life miserable because I believe she was dealing with her own internalized ableism and I was considered "more disabled" than her.

So she picked on everything I did, and said, and just generally would not leave me alone.

Additionally, Camp was very white. I only had one or two nonwhite friends who came to camp in the 13 years I attended. Most of them only stayed a year or two, and pretty sure I know why.

Camp is great and can create community, but it also can be hard on multiply marginalized disabled people who might not always feel like they belong.