A-Camp Spring 2015: We’ve Got A Campership WITH TRAVEL For You!
Hello human beings who dream of Mount Feelings! If you want to come to A-Camp but just can’t afford the tuition and travel, then have we got good news for you!
A wonderful resplendent anonymous human has donated a campership WITH travel expenses to one lucky human. She works with LGBTI refugees overseas and because that’s her particular area of interest, she’d really love to get applications from anyone who does LGBTI activism overseas or any newer LGBTI immigrants or Americans. But she is also “happy to help anyone in need.”
To apply for this campership, please email your application to cool [at] autostraddle [dot] com. Let us know:
- Your name
- Your age
- Where you live
- Why you need A-Camp and deserve this Campership!
- How much you estimate your travel would cost (She’s estimating a cap of $1,500 for travel, but she’s flexible — if you estimate your travel would be over $1,500, then let us know how you could cover the rest if that’s necessary.)
You have until Monday, March 2nd to apply! MAKE IT HAPPEN, KITTENS. We want so desperately to see all of your shining faces at this camp, so send in those applications and make all of our collective dreams come true. The time is now, take the world into the palms of your hands, etc.
A-Camp Spring 2015: It’s Time To Donate To Or Apply For Camperships!
Sometimes you wanna go to A-Camp but you just can’t afford it, and sometimes you don’t really want to go to A-Camp but totally could afford it, and if we mash both of those types of people together, we create a symbiotic relationship known as “the campership.” Although we have lots of good ideas around here, this particular idea just-so-happens to be yours.
This spring, we’ll be scaling Mount Feelings for another epic week of revelry and delight. Camp this year is only happening once so it’s more important than ever that we get as many bright eyes up that mountain as possible. Although we’re popular enough to be charging more than we do, we keep tuition as low as we possibly can because we think a more diverse group of campers makes for a much better camp, especially because camp is a crucial space for the website team to really get to know our readers and their needs. Unfortunately, as costs climb, many of the people who most need A-Camp — and who A-Camp needs the most — aren’t able to afford the trip.
Last May, we had a campership sponsored by Kipper Clothiers and another sponsored by Scout’s Honor. We also had one incredibly generous Autostraddler give a campership WITH TRAVEL for an overseas camper. Thanks to you, we also were able to give out six full camperships and five partial camperships. In October 2013, with the help of your online contrubutions (and even a Chicago Campership Fundraising party!), we were able to give out six full camperships and ten partial camperships. We also offered sponsored camperships through Kipper Clothiers and Kreuzbach 10 AND Hannah Hart generously contributed a full campership with travel expenses.
If you own a business and are interested in our sponsored campership program, email Alex [at] Autostraddle [dot] com. But if you’re a human who wants to donate, read on!
This is the post where we officially ask you, dear readers and lovers, to contribute to The Campership Fund. If you want to donate a full campership ($595), we’ll be getting in touch with you about whether or not you would like your identity revealed to the camper so they can tell you thank you. But any size contribution helps! Please note that Autostraddle and A-Camp are not non-profits.
If you want to apply for a Campership, you can do so here. The only requirements for full camperships are that you be a new camper who’s never been to A-Camp before and that you are 100% certain you can get there. We are especially eager for applicants who are of color, trans women, and/or over the age of 35.
If you need a little inspiration to open your pocketbooks for some fine human beings, we’ve got here some essays from the winners of May 2014 Camperships. You can also obtain further heartstring-tugging from the campershippers of October 2013, September 2012, April 2012 and May 2013.
AJ – 37 – Meridian, MS
When I applied for a campership, I honestly didn’t think I’d get it. I was in the process of getting a divorce, I have four children, I’m thirty-seven. Take your pick, because I’ve had some people flat out tell me there is no way I could be gay having lived this way for so long. So many times, I felt like there was no one who could understand me.
When I read Autostraddle’s recaps of past A-Camps, I thought “Oh, that’s an awesome thing. I bet it’s great for the younger people.” Then I read that there was a panel just for people who didn’t come out (or figure it out) until later in life, who may have even been married and had kids. In other words: people like me. And not only was this a panel, but it was well attended and received. That blew me away. All of a sudden, I felt a connection to these people. I wasn’t alone anymore, and someone, somewhere, who I didn’t know and who didn’t know me, understood me. I sat at my computer, stunned, because no matter how much support I’d gotten from some of those I’d come out to at that point, I still hadn’t gotten much understanding. It was more like, “I love you and I’ll support you, but I don’t get you.”
So, I applied because I knew I couldn’t go this year without a campership. But I thought I probably wouldn’t get it. I decided that I’d just have to save up and try to go next year. Then I got the email and I just stared at it for about ten minutes before I jumped up and started dancing. My kids thought I’d lost my mind. But then they got really jealous when I told them I was going to California, so I had to promise to take lots of pictures of the plane and the mountains.
Camp was surreal. I’ve never in my life experienced that much instant, sincere welcome. Everywhere people smiled and acknowledged you. No one looked at me strangely because I don’t wear make-up, have very short hair, and wanted to wear a tie. Such a change from south Mississippi. My cabin mates were the best people I could have possibly wished for. How can you feel like family in just a week? Even as I sit here typing this I remember sitting on the floor in our cabin and we all just seemed to fit. I also remember thinking this seems too easy, if only the rest of the world could get along like this.
I attended the “It’s Right In Time” panel for those who came out later in life, and it was as amazing as I thought it would be. There were so many people there. No judgments, just people who understand and accept you for you and may be a lot like you. I also really enjoyed the Introvert panel, Mommy Queerest, and the Gender Spectrum panel. Hell, I enjoyed every panel and workshop I attended. My only problem was figuring out what to go to because I wanted attend almost everything.
I’m not normally a person who shows my emotions by crying, but the last night, I was trying to explain just how truly extraordinary the experience was for me, and it all caught up to me. It’s hard for me to try explaining it. I think it’s almost like something you have to experience for yourself to truly understand. I grew up in a very religious household. But for me, being at A-Camp, being a part of this wonderful group of people… this is possibly the closest example of anyone fulfilling the commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself that I’ve ever witnessed. People were kind, supportive, loving, generous, thoughtful, appreciative, thankful.
A-Camp gave me a gift. I now have a small pocket of hope and joy that I carry with me. Because of the generosity of those who gave for my campership, I have a new friend-family of my cabin mates. I have a community. To those who gave and allowed me to attend camp this year, I thank you, so very, very much.
Cleo – 24 – Venice, CA
A-Camp is the best thing to happen to me since I discovered Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That may seem a tad dramatic, but it’s true!
At Camp I got to know queer moms who are raising happy, healthy kids — which cerebrally I know happens all the time, but I needed to see it to make that future solidify for me. I also got to see queer female couples being cute and supportive. Living and working in Los Angeles, the majority of my relationship models are heterosexual or gay men. It was so important that I saw what my life could like for two women.
A-Camp also gave me the best group of awesome, brilliant, gorgeous and caring friends ever. My cabin still has a running group chat where we check in on each other, share life events or just post funny pics. Before camp I was lacking in strong queer female friendships, and now I have not just my cabin, but our sister cabin and just other campers who I can feel safe and comfortable talking to.
A-Camp is a singularly amazing place where I got to be as open and honest as I’ve ever been. It’s so important for the queer community to have a space where fun and honesty and siblinghood is cultivated. For those of us who were or are closeted and missed out the joys of summer camp crushes, school dances and sharing secrets with friends, A-Camp is a priceless, life changing event that should be replicated as much as possible so that more people find their tribe.
Jenn – 23 – Arcadia, CA
By the time I got an offer to go to A-Camp on a campership, I had given up all hope on A-Camp being a possibility for me. Even though I applied to for a campership, May had come and I felt it would be far too late for anything to happen. Then I get an email from Riese Bernard that a spot had opened up and my heart dropped because, y’all, Riese Bernard emailed me? How did she get my email? Why is she talking to me so lovingly and OMG SHE IS OFFERING ME A CAMPERSHIP?
My heart soared, I physically danced, and I couldn’t stop smiling for days. Getting a campership brought me more joy than my college acceptance — probably even surpassing the pride I had at graduating college. Receiving a campership felt like the first really great thing that happened to me in a year and it was a wonderful opportunity to end such a year with A-Camp.
You see, following my graduation from college, a place where I was very much out and happy, I was heading back into the peripheral closet to the home of a physically abusive father and an emotionally abusive mother. The plan was to live there until I could find a job and build a life for myself. Neither of those escape plans came easy, considering I was so uncomfortable back in the closet and weary of living with my parents again.
Autostraddle, which used to be just a reliable source of information, became the community that fed my soul. What some may call “vapid fluff” I knew to be life-saving articles that detailed perspectives that I was far from hearing in my day to day life. Going from queerness level 100 to 0, Autostraddle helped me sustain who I knew I was, at least online. It was the community that pushed me to pursue my dreams and to take pride in who I am and what I want. It was the community that helped me through the loss of my cousin and inspired me to move to Southern California for a new job and a more honest life. Autostraddle became more than a handful of articles I enjoyed — it became a network of humans who I could trust.
So you can imagine how exciting (and oh so very intimidating) it was to go to A-Camp. I was going to interact with these life-saving forces and meet so many other great humans along the way. And naturally, I thought somehow this won’t be that great because great things haven’t happened in a long time. I had already unexpectedly lost my cousin, lost the dream job that I relocated for, and lost my identity as a queer feminist somewhere along the way. In my mind, it seemed natural that A-Camp would somehow also become another great thing that I lost.
Instead, A-Camp just brought me closer to the humans that had saved me in the last year. I came into A-Camp as a long-haired, friendless, scared-shitless-of-all-these-beautiful-people, introvert CONVINCED that even with the opportunity of going to A-Camp for free, that I would leave the same way. A cabin full of cuties, the dream queer-cut of my life, and a beautiful wedding later, I came back as the authentic me. Somewhere between not knowing everyone and crying at a wedding ceremony, I had fostered friendships, learned how to better handle my depression, made peace with my introversion, and danced somewhat like Beyonce enough to reacquaint myself with myself. And even better, I became close friends with some beautiful humans beings who I am so happy to know.
I know I am so very very lucky to have gotten to go to A-Camp 2014. A year ago, I was overwhelmed by the heteronormative home I would have to get used to and I am so happy that a year later, I was fortunate to be in a space that is the antithesis. It is an opportunity that we all should get to enjoy — and I have to say, dear Autostraddle Reader That Has Yet to Go to A-Camp, I really missed you last year. Apply your heart out, friend and don’t give up completely. Autostraddle is here for you and A-Camp awaits your greatness.
Jess – 39 – Forsyth, GA
Okay, camp. Oof. I’m a little afraid that people are going to think I’m exaggerating, but, here goes: camp changed my life. Fundamentally, and in ways that I’m only beginning to understand.
Even before I received the campership, A-Camp altered my worldview. I sat down to write my application seven or eight times, but every time I’d get a paragraph or so in and I just… could not do it. I didn’t know what to say about myself, or what I could bring to camp. I was at a loss. Fortunately, one of my very best friends, Louise, had received a campership in October 2013, had an amazing time, and was insisting that I had to apply for a campership. I’d said that I would. Had that not been the case, I might have backed out entirely. Thank Lesbian Jesus and Louise, because that’s not how it went down.
Instead I sat down at the very last minute and asked to be given a campership. For the first time in my life, I wrote about my journey without apologizing for it, and while I wrote, I got so, so excited. I realized that I was so fucking happy to be where I was in my life — so fucking grateful. I hit send and burst into happy tears, had a glass of wine and felt at peace. Peaceful feelings aside, I was still shocked as hell when the email came telling me I’d been awarded a campership.
On the plane out to California (I live in Georgia) I vacillated between elation and panic. I’d only come out earlier this year. What the fuck did I know about being queer? I was 39 years old. Who goes to camp at 39? I worried that the campership would be wasted on me. At the same time, I was thrilled to be going. I couldn’t wait to meet my cabin mates, I couldn’t wait to attend the panels, to be a part of a queer community for the first time in my life. I couldn’t wait to hear stories and sing along to Buffy and cry my eyes out at a wedding. I was more terrified and more excited than I’d ever been about anything.
My fears were dispelled in the first few hours of camp, but I discovered that I had not been excited enough. Camp was better than I ever could have imagined. The power of a truly safe, fully validating, queer-normative space cannot be overstated. Being totally myself, maybe the first time in my life, surrounded by other amazing queers on a mountaintop in California became my happiest place. It created a new normal for me, it reordered my sense of self, of community, of responsibility. It reformed and healed ideas that have that have tortured and teased me for most of my life. I made friends that I hope to treasure forever. It was the most fun I’d ever had. It was the most alive I’d ever felt. And it featured the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended. Also, bowties!
Since getting back, I have moved out of a bad living arrangement, found a new job, and come out to my mother. I’ve also started to question every assumption I’ve ever made — about myself, about others, and about what is possible. I’ve started to view people in a new way. I see privilege and disparity everywhere, and I feel a burning need to change it. More importantly, I believe that I can. I am more open and relaxed and at home in my body than I have ever been. I am frighteningly earnest. I am excited and grateful, and I am deeply, profoundly happy.
I will never be able to express my gratitude for getting to go to A-Camp. The people I met there, the conversations we had — they rebuilt me. They made me believe that better is a real possibility, and not just on a mountaintop in California.
If you haven’t been, you have to go to camp. You will have an entirely different experience from mine but it will be every bit as significant, if not more so. And I can’t wait to see you there!
Carmen – 24 – Singapore
Winner of the Overseas Campers Travel + Tuition Campership
In 2013 I finally became a lawyer, which was a goal I’d been working towards since I was 8. It was pretty much soul-sucking and awful and I quit after a lot of soul searching and my best friend pointing out that it had transformed me into nothing but a giant ball of anxiety. See, the thing about knowing where your life is going for most of your life is that when you take that away, you’re then pretty much crippled by the “not knowing,” which added to my already giant ball of anxiety and made for a pretty potent mix. (Remember the cat asking “Is this where the whiskey comes from?” I am the cat. The cat is me.)
Applying for the international campership was the first thing I actually did for myself in months, and I never thought I would actually get it. I applied with my heart in my throat, wondering if I could condense the love I’ve felt for the Straddleverse for years into paltry words that I strung together for people whose writing I have admired for so long to read.
I cried when I got the Campership, and camp was everything I had hoped for and even more than I had hoped for. It was a safe space where you never have to worry about someone staring or yelling at you for being in the wrong bathroom (because everyone gets a bathroom) and where instead of wondering whether you look too queer, you wonder if you would like to look even more queer and how that might be accomplished (with a bowtie you made yourself at Camp, clearly).
The sense of community you will feel at Camp is like no other. Everyone on that mountain is committed to having and creating a positive experience. It begins at the airport, where you spot this gigantic bunch of queermos, and you feel yourself grinning like a mad person. And then on the bus where the driver inexplicably puts on some Bollywood movie without subtitles or sound which you proceed to watch with all the people around you whilst carrying on several different conversations. You also later find out that talking about that ridiculous movie was totally a meet cute for your bus buddies, and there are not enough Awws in the world for that. I am serious.
I found a family at Camp, especially in my cabin-mates who opened their hearts and literally their homes to me after that. I found a space where I could unapologetically be myself, and where I should absolutely run towards embracing my feelings instead of running away from them. Crying at a campfire whilst listening to Very Talented People perform their poetry was absolutely a thing.
The biggest thing Camp gave me was direction and a renewed sense of purpose. My cabin-mates are the most supportive bunch ever, and I feel like I want to become the person I think they see. I also want to get my act together, and make it up the mountain again for Camp 6.0, which I’ve promised them I would. Camp 6.0 is a relatively short term goal to everything else I think I want to do with my life, and Camp provided me with the tools I needed to even start thinking about moving forward with my life again.
Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible for me to get to camp, and for everyone at camp who took a little piece of my heart and gave me some of theirs in return.
Natalia – 26 – Toronto, Canada
I had a hard time articulating exactly what camp did for me for a long time — until the recap posts from last year’s A-Camp popped up on the site, and I dumped a year’s worth of thoughts into the comments section. (Ah, Autostraddle, you eternal unlocker of feelings.)
So there it is: Two totally different versions of myself, and the year it took to morph between them.
About this time last year, I was drafting an essay to send to the A-Camp organizers. I remember that essay, fraught and full of doubt and hand-wringing about whether or not I was, essentially, gay enough to hang at A-Camp. I’d recently just begun calling myself “bisexual,” instead of “kind of attracted to girls sort of too maybe haha.” I had taken tentative strides to establish myself in my local queer community, but was so awkward and nervous about telling people I was bi, I was alienating them before I’d even had a chance to talk about my orientation at all.
The girl writing that essay was terrified of being rejected by the community she so identified with. She was still a little uncomfortable with even saying the word “queer” out loud. She wasn’t even sure her dumb problems were worth special help — hell, people are fired, disowned, assaulted, killed every day for being who they are, and my sorry ass was worried about lesbians telling me I had heteronormative privilege.
But hey, camp looked like pretty much the funnest thing ever — and even my tormented self could admit I badly needed a shove outside of my comfort zone. (Plus, I was hella broke.) So I wrote the essay, and off it went.
The partial campership acceptance email, surprisingly, just brought more anxiety — in addition to paying for flights and the other half of camp, I felt it necessary to tell my mum why I was leaving the country for a week. But the hurdles, as they so often do, fell away. I got a new job, and paid for the rest of my entry fee and a plane ticket. I told my mom, finally, after years of talking around it, that I was attracted to women — and she just hugged me and told me she loved me, and I could bring home whoever I wanted anytime.
The night I arrived at camp, in the Mockingjay cabin, the 16 of us shared our greatest fears about the week. Unsurprisingly, I was afraid I’d be judged for not being queer enough. But hearing the others talk about their own struggles with anxiety, or nerves, or coming to terms with their own identities made me feel reassured.
And then, the very next morning: The fabulously-named Bisexual Feelings Summit and Hummus Appreciation Society. Forty kids of all stripes — cis women, trans women, trans guys, nonbinary and agender folks — having a good, old-fashioned rant session about bi erasure while mowing down some pita chips. It was an awesome moment of community. I saw how many other non-monosexual folks had made it up the mountain, and understood that they shared the same insecurities and resentments as I did.
But the best part about A-Camp was that nobody seemed to really care what I was. There was a wonderful unspoken understanding that every one of us was there on that mountaintop for a reason, and nobody was interested in proving their sexuality or having others’ proven to them. We all ate, danced, made crafts, went on hikes, pulled really terrible pranks on one another, and just got on with having an awesome time.
The fears that used to take the word “bi” out of my vocabulary and paralyze me into speechlessness at bars feel like a distant memory now. I’m out to my immediate family members. I even started a business with strong queer ties — something I might never have felt comfortable enough to do without my time at camp.
I also now have a whole new community — people in cities and countries I’ve never visited; friends I talk to online nearly every day; remarkable people with remarkable stories. My world feels five times larger.
So now I’m hoping to sponsor a partial A-Campership this year myself, because I want to give someone else the same opportunity to find acceptance, within and without.
I just might tell them to give it to some shy bi kid who’s terrified nobody will accept them.
You changed my life. Thanks for everything.
Carolyn – 35 – Hayward, CA
Winner of the QPOC Activist Campership
Carolyn, Wunmi & Kaylah
I had nooooo idea what to expect at A-Camp. I heard about A-Camp when Autostraddle advertised in the BUTCHVoices 2013 program. Before then I’d NEVER read Autostraddle. I had been to several retreats before they were just that… retreat spaces.
So when I read the descriptors of the A-Camp activites and saw it was really like summer camp I decided I had to go. It was such a life-changing experience being around so many women from around the world! I’m used to being in spaces where people are like me. I was even a little shy which is TOTALLY out of character.
The campers at A-Camp were so diverse and everyone was ready to have a good time and just celebrate our community that we built over the week. The staff and previous campers made sure to make it a space where even if you came by yourself you left with a huge mount of friends. Most people call camp “Mount Feelings”… I don’t call it that because I didn’t process many feelings, I was too busy having a good time!
I made a pledge on the mountain to be as engaged as possible with the Autostraddle community and it’s a promise I have kept. I’ll be honest — I think I’ve made more A-Camp friends OFF of the mountain because once you’re inserted into the Previous Campers Club its like a whole new world of people. Now I enjoy Skyping with all of my buddies all over the world and also connecting with my local Straddlers. Its amazing! I don’t know what else to say but I can’t wait to get back to the mountain! My UK and Australian buddies are waiting for me!
Carolyn and Bre
Trystan – 24 – Santa Cruz, CA
When my girlfriend first suggested that I apply that I go to A-Camp, I was skeptical. I had been out as a trans woman for over a year, and in that time I had learned the painful lesson that trans women are not welcome in lesbian spaces. Sometimes we’re tolerated much the same way headaches are tolerated, but that’s not the same thing as being accepted. I’m not even talking about my conservative home state of Utah; I learned this through my experiences living in and around California’s Bay Area. Luckily my girlfriend (who is also trans, and has known this about queer spaces even longer than I have) had been to A-Camps prior, and she assured me that Autostraddle was different. Still, I was wary: I was quiet, shy, and had never, ever been to a summer camp before. Besides, there was no way I could ever afford it. She understood my worries, but convinced me to apply for a “Campership” all the same, just on the off chance that I would be chosen.
Well, I’m sure you can guess what happened next.
When I arrived at the campsite on the first day, I was so nervous my heart felt ready to fall out of my throat if I took too big a step. But everyone I met was incredibly welcoming and kind, and my cabin counselors made sure to help me feel at home. There didn’t seem to be a lot of other trans women, but there were more of them than there were trans men; for a queer women’s space, that alone was a first for me. I was anxious at first, and scared, and too introverted to really get to know anyone well but I was at A-Camp, and I was determined to experience as much as I possibly could while I was there.
I am so, so glad I did. I had some absolutely incredible experiences on that mountain: people who I had mistaken for strangers lending me their socks because I thought Southern California would be all heat and warmth; recording a video with Hannah Hart to mark my 18th month on HRT; meeting the writer of Lumberjanes; running a D&D game at the Renaissance faire; attending writing workshops with the delightful Autostraddle staff. I loved the Buffy the Vampire Slayer singalong, where for the first time in months I was able to actually sing without being scared about what people would think about a girl who’s also a baritone; likewise, going to the Black and White Ball was, I think, the first time I had gone out in public and actually felt beautiful. And, of course, Bren and Carrie’s wedding was moving, adorable, and absolutely made me cry. Surrounded by so many other lesbians, queerness became the norm; for perhaps the first time, I felt like I was in a community where I could safely just be me.
Sadly, though, I can’t say that each and every one of my fears about being among so many cis queers were completely unjustified. Maybe if I’d been a little more outgoing, a little less shy, it might have been different; if I’d been more adventurous, if I’d lowered my guard even further, perhaps. I can’t speak to anyone else’s experience, but I found that even as good as A-Camp was at trans inclusion, I was still a bit of an outsider. I didn’t go with the intention of finding romance, or hooking up, but I could clearly see how all the queer desire on that mountain parted neatly around each the trans women there. Outside looking in included, but not integrated fully, as if no one knew what to do with us. That might not be how the other girls felt maybe I was just too weary, to wounded but from where I was standing I could still see the subtle marginalization of trans women at work. Which is why it is so important that Autostraddle continues to get more trans women to A-Camp. It was the most inclusive lesbian space I’d ever been in, and I know it can get better, especially if more trans women get the chance to get a Campership like I did.
Even with all that said, I am still so incredibly grateful that I got the chance to go to ACamp. My girlfriend was right when she told me it would be life-changing. I hope more trans women get the chance, and I certainly hope to be back someday!
Lindsay – 22 – Norco, CA
To say that the campership changed my life would be the cheesiest thing to say, but it is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about Autostraddle’s camperships. Last year, I wrote an essay on how I’ve never experienced a sense of community and how A-Camp would fulfill all my hopes and dreams. I never really though I would be the recipient of a campership but I tried anyway. A-Camp was so out of the realm of my possibility because, with a 4-year-old son, queer adult camps are not at the top of the budgeting necessities.
Getting my email that I had received a campership literally took the wind out of me, out of shock, excitement, and a sudden pure terror I hadn’t anticipated. In the weeks leading up to Camp, that terror took over and was all I could think about. When I had applied for the campership, I never thought I could receive one in reality. I hadn’t really thought out the logistics of being very pregnant at camp. Last year, I was a surrogate so some friends of mine could have a now beautiful baby boy, but at the time of camp I would be around 7 months pregnant and I was terrified of how this community I wanted so much would accept a huge, sober genderqueer butch.
However strong my fears were, they were immediately alleviated when I met my cabin mates. If community is what I wanted, I got my wishes in huge strides, with a giant group of the most loving and caring people I have ever met. Throughout the camp I met many amazing people, but I was beyond lucky to be paired with these beautiful humans, and have made lifelong close friends out of my cabin mates (some of which will be traveling across the world to make it to my wedding this year). To say I was overwhelmed with love and community would be a huge understatement.
I can’t discuss how A-Camp changed my life without talking about the seminars given. While all were spectacular, there were some that touched me so deeply I will never forget them and how they made me feel and what I learned. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the first, which really solidifies my point of how it changed my life I am sure, but it was a journaling, writing sort of activity which helped my gain some of my best writing to date. The other was Mommy Queerest, in which I was once again overwhelmed to tears (probably definitely the pregnancy hormones) being in a room full of other queer parents who just totally got what I was going through.
A-Camp and the campership that helped me get there will forever be giant life changing events for me where I finally felt was it was like to be on Mount Feelings with a billion beautiful queers and I am stoked to say this year I can make it there myself to let someone else experience this crazy wonderful place.
What are you waiting for? Apply now or donate now!
*Please submit your application by February 26!
Jasika Nicole Will Teach You Embroidery and Social Justice: The Autostraddle Interview
Feature photo by Robin Roemer.
For five seasons, Jasika Nicole played everyone’s favorite FBI Junior Agent on Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe. During the show’s 100-episode run, Jasika endeared herself to us in real life, too. She publicly came out as a queer woman like it was no big deal at a time when plenty of people in Hollywood still thought saying “Yep, I’m gay” was career suicide. After Fringe ended, she joined the cast of Scandal as Kim, the long-suffering the mother of Huck’s son. (Her characters always have to deal with unhinged men!) She has also guest starred on the super popular sci-fi podcast Welcome to Night Vale. In her free time, she shares DIY projects and social justice ponderings on Tumblr, posts sketches and sequential comics on her website, and probably rescues puppies from burning buildings.
Jasika chatted with us recently about her career, race in Hollywood, becoming an advocate for social justice, and about A-Camp. Yes, A-Camp! She’s going to be there!
All photos by Robin Roemer.
First of all, let’s not bury the lede: You’re coming to A-Camp!
I am! I am so excited to be asked to participate!
Tell me what you’re going to do at A-Camp.
I plan on packing appropriate clothing and doing what anyone else tells me to do. I’m thinking some classes on maybe knitting or needlework or embroidery or something? But I’m not sure if people are interested in that.
You teaching an embroidery class at A-Camp will literally be the most popular embroidery class in history.
Oh my gosh, that makes me feel so good.
Let’s talk about what’s going on with you right now. You’re still on Scandal. The last time we saw you, you were threatening to burn Huck alive, which I really liked a lot.
[Laughs] Okay, I’m going to say I did go to a table read this morning so I know what happens next. Since I’m not a series regular on the show, I don’t get every script; I only get the scripts for the episodes I’m in. Shonda [Rhimes] is very tight-lipped and not interested in divulging any information to me. So when people ask me what’s happening next, I usually have no idea — but today, I do!
I never really thought about that. And you can’t keep up with the show in real-time because the filming happens several weeks ahead?
Yes! The filming is about three weeks ahead, so I’ll show up to a table read and be like, “Whaaaaat? Wait, who’s dead? Who’s sleeping with who? What is happening?” It’ll be like a whole season of stuff has happened in the last episode, and I have to be really chill about it. But sometimes I catch myself gasping or making really shocked faces.
Last season, they brought me in for the finale, but obviously the episodes on the air weren’t caught up to that, so I was reading about how Huck and Quinn were kissing, and I was freaking out at the table. Of course, for everyone else there, it was old news. It’s weird because I’m trying to be cool in front of Portia de Rossi, but I’m a huge fan of the show! I’m an audience member and an actor. It’s a funny balance.
All photos by Robin Roemer.
Do you think that’s one of the reasons that show is so popular? You really can’t miss an episode.
I was thinking about that today. Obviously the show is popular for a lot of reasons. I don’t think it’s an accident that such a popular show has a woman of color as the lead, because you don’t see that in television a lot. I think another one of the reasons is that it’s so unpredictable. It can be dramatic, and it can be crazy, but it’s kind of nice to be able to watch a show and not know what’s going to happen, to sort of succumb to primetime TV and let it wash over you. I also think people love that it keeps them on their toes, and it never make any promises. This is your favorite character? Too bad, he’s dead!
Do you feel like we’re making progress with the representation of women of color on television?
I want it! I want the progress and I want to move in a forward direction! The optimist in me wants to be excited that we have Kerry Washington and now we’ve got Viola Davis, and we’ve got shows like Black-ish, and while Tracee Ellis Ross isn’t the lead, she’s co-starring as the lead. So I do get excited about that, wondering who’s going to come next. But then I remember when we had a lot of black television shows on, and we were like, “Yeah! This is it!” And then it sort of disappeared overnight.
And we’re just now slowly getting back to this position. So, I do feel excited but I also want to be realistic and acknowledge that not all trends stick around. I hope that it does! I hope that it continues to move forward! But television is a really scary world. You can never place your bets on anything. I think you can put so many people of color on TV shows, but until there are more people of color who are making those decisions to put those actors and actresses in those roles, we’re not quite at that point yet. We need more Shonda Rhimes in our lives.
You know what’s kind of weird? Obviously Alessandra Stanley’s ridiculous “angry black woman” profile of Shonda Rhimes in the New York Times was a catalyst for this conversation, but people keep saying 2014 was the Year of Shonda Rhimes — but I feel like we’ve been living in the Age of Shonda Rhimes for a long time.
Yes, you are so right. You are absolutely right.
What do you think is the zeitgeisty convergence of things is that makes people say that right now? Like that now it’s her time?
I think there’s something so special about her. It’s not just that she hires black women to star in her shows. She hires a variety of people of color. And she casts people who maybe don’t have the physical form that our culture considers beautiful. And she also has out queer people in her TV shows, and that’s a huge thing that a lot of people don’t talk about. I’m sitting at the table read today next to Guillermo Diaz. I’m sitting across the table from Portia. And then you have Cyrus’ character who is a gay man, and there’s a queerish thing happening in the episode, so that’s a whole other dynamic that goes beyond what we usually see.
Shonda is telling stories about love that takes place in so many shapes and forms. And that’s so exciting to me. I don’t think the movements for racial equality and sexual identity are necessarily the same fights, but I think they tread a lot of the same ground. You’re right that she didn’t just start doing this; she’s been doing it for years. Thank God she’s finally getting the acknowledgment from other people. But you know what? Even if she wasn’t getting the recognition, she’d still be doing it. She’s doing it because she believes in it.
All photos by Robin Roemer.
You touched on this and it made my mind start whirling. There’s been this idea in Hollywood for a long time that queer people can only play queer characters and straight people can only play straight characters, and I think that’s one of the reason so many actors and actresses have been afraid of coming out. But Shonda Rhimes flips that on it’s head and it’s queer people playing straight characters and straight people playing queer characters because it’s acting.
Yes! I think that is wonderful! It’s a slap in the face to that whole ridiculous notion. It’s not the actors that created that notion; it was the people who were casting TV who created that notion. It’s the executives and producers who have these ideas. I don’t think the audience sets those bizarre standards. I think it’s the people in charge. And I think what Shonda is doing is allowing people to see how silly and wrong those assumptions are about queer actors.
I agree. I think for so long, networks have been telling us what we want, instead of asking us what we want. Do you think social media is changing that? Do you think it makes a difference now that we’re able to talk back to the culture creators about our needs and expectations?
I absolutely do. I don’t know statistically how much of a force audiences have with networks, but I hear producers and directors and writers talking all the time about Reddit conversations or going on Tumblr or reading someone’s fan fiction. There’s a direct line of conversation there now, and it does make a difference.
You’ve been out for a while. You came out in the New York Times, right?
Kind of? I had really never not been out. It was never a secret. I guess I did sort of publicly come out in The New York Times, but only because that’s the first time a major publication was interested in me!
Our senior editorial team was talking about this at the end of the year, about how maybe we’ve crossed the threshold now where if you’re a celebrity and you want to come out, you just post a picture of yourself on Instagram with your girlfriend, and that’s that.
Right? I love that. Why do we need a whole press conference for coming out? Obviously the assumption is that everyone is heterosexual. No straight woman is ever like, “Whew. Okay. I’m going to — guys, I’m going to go on Oprah and talk about… my husband.” I do feel like we’re moving into territory where if you’re assuming someone is heterosexual, that’s on you.
Let me ask you a math question. When Fringe premiered in 2008, we had 13 queer characters on TV, one of whom was a woman of color. In 2014, we added 71 new queer characters, 18 of whom were women of color. Is that something you feel? That you, as a queer woman of color, are better represented on TV now than you were when you started on Fringe?
I’m going to say no — but that isn’t to deny all the really awesome forward moves that we’ve seen in pop culture over the last several years. And also, honestly, I might not be watching the shows with queer women of color on them.
Most of them are geared toward teenagers, actually.
That is fascinating! I often wonder what my life would be like if I had grown up with access to things like Tumblr or shows like Glee or Teen Wolf. I cannot even wrap my head around what it would have felt like to come into my own person with those types of media available to me. I grew up in Alabama, so maybe it wouldn’t have mattered what was on TV. I was living in an oppressive environment regardless. But I do feel like newer generations have a really unique opportunity here with these shows and with the ability to talk to them and about them on social media, and also with web series, which exist completely outside the domain of network television.
I think some of my perspective on this, on feeling underrepresented as a queer woman of color, might have something to do with the fact that I am auditioning for these roles. Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond these auditions that I go in for, or the auditions I want to get in but won’t be seen for, or the way that things are written. It’s really, really bleak sometimes, so I may have tunnel vision and just remember these casting calls that say “submit all ethnicities” when they knew they were going to hire a white person.
All photos by Robin Roemer.
It seems so bizarre that we still exist in a place where a casting call says “submit all ethnicities.” I mean, of course you should submit all ethnicities. Why in the world would you not submit all ethnicities?
That’s the trip of it. I think there’s this idea that if the breakdown says “submit all ethnicities,” networks are doing their part to see all kinds of different people, and then the best person gets the part, but everyone knows 90 percent of those roles are going to a white person. The ones that say “ambiguously raced” or “African American” or “black,” those are going to a black person. I think they say “submit all ethnicities” to make themselves feel better. On paper, it seems like they’re casting a wide net. But all actors know the rules of it; it’s a really weird semantics game.
This is really a naive thing for me to say, but I’m shocked that you can’t just walk in and audition for whatever you want. You were on a very popular show on broadcast network television for over 100 episodes!
Girl, I know. I mean, I wasn’t the main character on Fringe, and I definitely understood my role. My character enlightened the audience about what was going on with the three leads. I was fine with being a supporting, secondary character, but I, too, was a little shocked that I could be a series regular on a show that ran for five seasons on a major network, and I could not get any auditions after the show was over. We finished shooting in December, and my wife, Claire, and I moved to Los Angeles in January, right in time for pilot season. I was so excited to do something new and different, so it was really disheartening, I won’t lie to you.
I spiraled into a bit of a depression when I realized that it doesn’t always matter what your credits are or what you’ve accomplished, because if there aren’t roles out there for you, you’re not going to get cast in anything. That’s the bottom line. That’s not to say that I didn’t come to the table with my own baggage; of course I did. For five years, I hadn’t had to audition for anything. It’s a very different mindset to be working on a show versus trying to get onto a show. I had a lot of stuff to work out. Trying to get my footing back was tricky. Another problem is that I didn’t look old enough for some things, but I looked too old for other things.
That exasperates me beyond anything, that women on TV either have to look young enough to play a teenager or old enough to play a teenager’s mom. I remember talking to Bianca Lawson a couple of years ago when she was in her early 30s and playing a teenager, and she said she knew she was going to go from playing a high school sophomore to someone’s grandma in a matter of months.
I know. That is so crazy. When I was auditioning for stuff after Fringe, I didn’t look young enough to play someone who is 26 but I didn’t look old enough to play someone who is 36, and I’m like, “Where are these people on television? Everyone I hang out with is 26 to 36; I know we exist!” You know, Shonda was a fan of Fringe and a fan of Astrid, so they just offered me the role on Scandal. It was the first time that had ever happened, and it came after a miserable pilot season where I didn’t book anything. It was exciting to hear someone say, “Hey, I remember that you were on show for five years and I love your work and I think you would be great on my show!”
I read on Twitter that you want to play a gay man on Looking.
You know, that show has such a sweetness and intimacy to it that you don’t alway see with gay men on TV. I love it. Actually, remember on this season’s premiere when they go to Bear Beach in the Redwoods and everybody does ecstasy? I was like, “Well, now I have to do ecstasy, I guess!” And Claire looked online to see where that party is held, and I was like, “Claire, gay men do not just have sex parties in the Redwoods!” And she was like, “Well, that’s not really how people do ecstasy!” So, I guess both of our dreams were shattered.
That’s hilarious. So, social media is also another creative outlet for you, right? You post so much of your DIY stuff there and so much stuff about social justice. Is social justice a thing you’ve always been passionate about, or did some of that come from being trapped in the Hollywood machine and seeing the way the world works in there?
That’s a great question. I think I had a great period of growth moving from Birmingham to New York. I moved to New York when I was 23, so I grew up a lot there. And then I was maybe 26 when I came out and that’s when I met Claire who is my wife now. She was in graduate school for social work and it was meeting her and learning about her life and about the work that she does that made me so much more aware of the world outside of myself.
I know that’s a pretty common thing to experience when you’re in your mid-20s, figuring out what you like and figuring out what you feel, and you don’t really always see the people around you, so it was really exciting for me to meet this woman whose job was to look beyond herself. She used to work for an organization that provides transitional housing to LGBTQIA people. I dealt with some racism and discrimination in Alabama, but I had never been privy to understanding all the different ways people live in this world and how the standards our society puts on people can affect the way they grow up. So that was kind of the start of it, just having these late night conversations with Claire about what she does and about the social injustices in the world.
And then — then! — I was introduced to Tumblr and I was like, “Oh, well it’s over now!” In the beginning I didn’t think of it as using my platform to spread the good word. It was like, “Well, this is stuff I am interested in learning about. Perhaps you are interested in learning about it too!”
All photos by Robin Roemer.
I like that your Tumblr bio is like, “Just because you liked Fringe doesn’t mean you’ll like my politics!”
Sometimes I think we forget that we can like something and also be critical of it. I can like an actor and be uncomfortable or frustrated with their views. As a society, we don’t really give actors or writers or politicians the space to be their fully formed selves. I think it’s important to be able to do that, to allow people to be three-dimensional, as opposed to these flat versions of themselves because of the one thing they’re most famous for.
I’ve also learned a lot of DIY stuff from your Tumblr, but I’m too scared to try any of it on my own.
You just have to get in there and get your hands on it! It’s only intimidating to get started. Once you find your footing, you won’t be able to get enough of it!
I’ll have to take your A-Camp class. May 2014: Jasika Nicole brings her knitting prowess to the masses!
I will see you there!
Introducing Camp Autostraddle 6.0
Once upon a time we had a dream. It involved a couple hundred of you, 40 of us, a group retreat site in the San Bernardino Mountains and a weekend packed with workshops, panels, classes, meet-ups, activities and performances designed to inspire, educate, entertain and/or make you laugh — basically, it was the spirit of this website manifested in three entire dimensions mixed with a dash of old-fashioned Summer Camp goodness and an infusion of conference style. We wanted to create a special (and affordable!) space where you could be yourself, enhance your relationships within the international queer community, support Autostraddle, be a kid again and make new friends forever.
It was a dream called A-Camp, and it came true the last weekend of April 2012 and it was a total shitshow but also amazing. We’ve since held increasingly spectacular A-Camps in September 2012, May 2013, October 2013 and May 2014. In 2015, we’re only gonna be holding only one A-Camp, and it’s definitely going to be the best A-Camp in the history of modern camping. Possibly pretty high up there with the invention of The Tent.
When
5:30 PM May 30th – 10 AM June 4th
Where
Alpine Meadows Retreat Center in Angelus Oaks, California. It’s less than three hours from Los Angeles and San Diego, four hours from Las Vegas, five hours from Phoenix and seven hours from San Francisco. We’ll be running shuttles from LAX to the campsite from 11:30 AM to 2PM on May 30th and shuttles back to LAX at 10:00 AM on June 4th.
Who?
You weirdos! Our campers range in age from 18 to 50 and come from all over the world, including lots of Canadians and quite a few Australians and Europeans. Generally half our campers are under 25 and half are over 25, and 60% are first-timers.
Also: Us! We are headed up by A-Camp Co-Directors Robin Roemer & Marni Kellison, and in order to give you the broadest range of programming possible, we’ve got a staff-to-camper ratio of about 1:7.
How
Tuition is $595 and is all-inclusive — that’s five days and nights of food, lodging, programming and entertainment for less than $119 a day! It’s the most affordable event of its kind, and just $75 down reserves your spot. Questions about the cost? Check out our FAQ.
Want more details? Let’s go!
Anything…
Is…
Possible…
We’re shaking it up again this year with a revamped schedule and roster of truly spectacular programming that’ll go deep into our hearts and souls to bring out the best in you, teach you new things and enable you to have TONS OF FUN. We’ll be hosting our first-ever A-Camp State Fair (for real this time), which’ll be spectacular because LIVESTOCK. (Just kidding, no livestock.) Plus, we’ll be well into June and thus it’ll be warm enough for swimming, canoeing, hiking and star-gazing.
Lodging
You’ll be having the bestest biggest grown-up slumber party of your life in fully insulated, carpeted & heated cabins with private bathroom/showers/baths and bunk beds. You’ll be sharing these cabins with somewhere between 12 and 18 others, which can be intense, but is mostly A BLAST. Cabin groups are designed with your best interests in mind, and you’ll also be teaming up with other cabins to compete in the camp-wide Rainbow Wars.
Note: All campers under the age of 21 will be in the same cabin.
Food
You’ll get three meals a day with snacks — we now work with the chef to design a menu and options catered specifically for our group, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options as well as meals for people with food allergies.
Daytime Programming
You’ll have full access to a variety of activities, workshops, panels, sports, discussion groups, classes and arts & crafts.
Activities offered at previous A-Camps include…
Arts & Crafts:
- Bow-Tie Making
- Chingona Chats and Crafts: Sacred Queer Heart Shrines
- DIY Daisy Dukes
- Look After Yourself: Self-Portraits
- DIYke Hardware Jewelry
- Nerdcraft
- Make A Thing: Merit Badges
- Knit Your Way To A Better Life
Workshops:
- Songwriting 101
- “Ropes Course” and Kink Workshop
- YO! A-Camp Raps!
- Pure Poetry Challenge
- Comics With The Lumberjanes Team
- Lez Talk About Sex(ual Health)
- Swagger 101
- Peer Counseling For Everybody!
- Casual Sext
- Improv Comedy
Sports, Games, Etc:
- Self Defense 101
- Cheer Camp
- Ballet for Basic Bitches
- Rock Yoga
- Beyonce’s Dance Grooves
- Hip-Hop Dance
- Canoeing
- Geek Trivia
- Mindfulness & Meditation
- Haus of Vogue
Discussion Groups, Panels & Presentations
- Queer People of Color Politicking & Zine-Making
- Mixed-Race/Biracial/Multi-racial Discussion Group
- Profesh Pantsuit Power Hour
- Speed Dating
- Gender Spectrum
- Mommy Queerest: Queer Parenting Panel
- Party of One: An Introvert Feelings Atrium
- Tardy for the Party: A Coming Out Later In Life Discussion Group
- Mountaintop Bisexual* Discussion Group and Hummus Appreciation Society
- Real Talk: Your Relationship Doesn’t Have To Suck
- Bloody Hell: A Menstruation Feelings Atrium
- Mystery Homo Theater 4000
Nighttime Entertainment
Autostraddle After Dark includes crazy-fun evening entertainment that changes every time. There’s always a last night dance and there’s always a Staff Reading, and this time, you can definitely count on a night of Comedy and a night of Music. Past After Dark activities have included game shows like The Strip Spelling Bee, musical extravaganzas like Lilith Flair, X-Files screenings and The All-Camp Variety Show.
Talent
WE’RE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR TALENT Y’ALL!!!
Dannielle Owens-Reid, “Everyone is Gay”
website // twitter // instagram // tumblr // autostraddle
Dannielle resides in Los Angeles, and has been working with LGBTQ young people for over four years as the co-founder of Everyone Is Gay. She holds a BA in Theater Performance, and studied comedy in Chicago for 4 years, performing at iO Chicago, Second City, and The Playground. She has also worked extensively in the world of social media, heading up social interactions for Virgin Mobile on the Lady Gaga Monster Ball Tour in 2012 and was first runner-up to be MTVs first ever TJ (twitter jockey — it’s not a thing anymore). She created Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber aaaand recently co-authored the book This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids, with business partner, Kristin Russo. Her cat’s name is Janet.
DeAnne Smith, Comedian
website // twitter // instagram // autostraddle
DeAnne blogs for Autostraddle, but mostly she’s known for her hilarious stand-up and prolific career as a comic. This three-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee (2011, 2012, 2013) has performed all over the world, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Iceland Comedy Festival and Just for Laughs Montreal and Chicago to name a few. She’s also been on TV in four countries, including on Last Comic Standing NBC, The Late Late Show on CBS, Canada’s The Comedy Network and CBC, Australia’s Channel 10 and ABC, and UK’s Sky TV. She co-created the timeless webseries Tiny Pineapple and produces the wonderfully hilarious podcast, Questionable At Best. The Montreal Gazette says DeAnne is “fresh, cutting…one of the finest wits in the country.” The UK’s Telegraph calls her “Smart. Very funny. Effortless charm lets her get away with murder.” She’s never actually murdered anyone.
Jasika Nicole, Actor
website // twitter // instagram // tumblr // autostraddle
Jasika is an actor who is probably best known as Brenda from that Alltel commercial she did 8 years ago that ran for a few months, but she also spent five years playing Astrid on Fringe and is currently on Scandal. She has a lot of hobbies such as hating cheese, obsessing over your Mom, and reading power tool reviews on Amazon. She also spends a lot of her time knitting, sewing clothes, building things, and drawing her comic “Closetalkers,” which is a story about two best friends who fall in love with each other. Her favorite color is mint green, her favorite film genre is depressing documentary, she doesn’t like dangly earrings, and her current dream role is Dorothy in The Wiz.
Jenny Owen-Youngs, Musician
website // twitter // instagram // tumblr // autostraddle
Jenny Owen Youngs is a singer, songwriter, and natural history enthusiast who grew up in the forests of northern New Jersey and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. She self-released her first album Batten the Hatches in 2005, then went on to release two albums and three EPs through the Canadian indie label Nettwerk Records. More recent years have seen a return to her DIY roots with the self-release of her most recent album (An Unwavering Band of Light) and EP (Slack Tide). She has toured extensively through the US and Europe, both as headliner and support to artists such as Regina Spektor, Motion City Soundtrack, Against Me!, and Amanda Palmer. Her songs have been heard on Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Catfish, and in Victoria’s Secret stores the world over. There’s a pretty decent chance she has watched more cumulative hours of Buffy the Vampire Slayer than you or anyone you know.
Julia Nunes, Musician
website // twitter // instagram // tumblr // autostraddle
Julia Nunes (pronounced NOONZ) hails from upstate New York. She is a talented singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. She started writing songs at the age of 13 for her middle school ska band. She gained a rabid following on youtube by posting videos playing her heartfelt originals and creative covers. Most videos are edited together with multiple layers showing each instrument and vocal part as she records it. In 2009, Ben Folds took notice of her cover of his song “Gone” and took her out on an East Coast tour. She’s also toured with and played on stage with Ben Kweller, Amanda Palmer, A Great Big World and Weezer. She made her television debut on Conan in 2012 playing her original “Stay Awake.” In 2013 Nunes started playing living room shows, putting on completely acoustic concerts inside people homes. Always creating her own path, Julia is funding her latest album with a wildly successful kickstarter campaign. When the album drops mid 2015 she’s sure to come to a club/bar/living room near you.
Kristin Russo, “Everyone is Gay”
website // twitter // instagram // tumblr // autostraddle
Kristin Russo is the co-founder of the LGBTQ youth organization Everyone Is Gay, and holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. She recently co-authored the book, This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids, and launched The Parents Project (a first-of-its-kind digital presence for parents of LGBTQ kids) with her business partner (and famous celebrity), Dannielle Owens-Reid. Kristin resides in Brooklyn, NY, is married to a musician named Jenny Owen Youngs, and has a cat named Trey who does not yet hold any degrees and frequently sleeps to close to the heater.
Brittani Nichols, Comedian
website // twitter // instagram // autostraddle
Brittani Nichols has been a professional freelance African-American for over 25 years and a Los Angeles based comedy person for quite some time. In addition to serving as the Comedy and Sports Editor for Autostraddle, she’s written for HuffPo, Elixher and Jezebel and appeared on television (Billy on the Stree, the Collective). Brittani’s pilot, Words With Girls, premiered at HBO/BET’s Urbanworld Film Festival and is now available online at Color Creative TV. She’s currently a writer on the upcoming BET show, The Vince Swann Experiment. Brittani currently does stand-up from time to time and imrpov a lot of the time with her teams Charm School and Dunkmore. She’s performed in shows at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (LA and New York), on iO West’s Mainstage, and at the Downtown Independent Theater along with other fun places like a hostel. She even spoke at a college once.
Swag
You’ll get your very own A-Camp Tote bag, chock full of fun shit from our sponsors and your very own A-Camp T-Shirt. (If you’re an independently owned business who’d like to see your swag in our bags, hit us up!)
Camperships & Tuition Discounts
Your generosity has sent over 30 deserving humans to A-Camp over the past three years, and you’ll have the chance to make dreams come true again this year by donating to our campership fund. Our goal is to offer 5-8 full camperships and 5-8 partial camperships of 30%-60% off, and five spots at half price. We’ll start accepting essay applications and soliciting donations next month in a post which will feature essays from our May 2014 Campership recipients. But if you wanna donate to the campership fund right now, you totally can! If you donate a full campership we’ll be in touch regarding whether or not you’d like your identity revealed to the camper. If you have an independent business who’d like to sponsor a campership, get in touch with alex [at] autostraddle.com. Previous sponsors have included Kipper Clothiers, Scout’s Honor, Kreuzbach10 and Hannah Hart.
We also recognize that as A-Camp becomes more expensive it becomes harder to maintain the diversity we require for a truly successful A-Camp. We encourage campership applicants who are of color, trans women, mothers, or over 35 and newly out and will have some specific opportunities for QTPOC.
If you cannot attend camp without a full Campership, do not register for camp! We reserve spaces for Campershippers so you don’t need to snag one in case you become a Campershipper — that’s been taken care of.
Okay, I’m in. What now?
If you wanna get on the saddle and trot on over to A-Camp with us this spring, here’s what you’ve gotta do:
1. For the low low price of a $75 non-refundable non-transferable deposit, you can snag your spot for the spring festivities. Please read the instructions at the top of each registration interface page if anything seems remotely complicated. Your full tuition is due April 7th. You can make partial payments between now and then by logging back in to the regonline system and making partial payments.
2. If registration fills up, you can put yourself on the waitlist. Be sure to put an e-mail address you check regularly and often, so you don’t miss our note if you’re up!
3. If you’re driving in on May 30th, please plan to arrive between 3 PM and 5:30 PM. On Sunday, please plan to leave by 11 AM.
4. If you’re looking for flights and will need transportation from the airport, be sure you can be at Terminal 6 by 2 PM on May 30th. If you’re getting in to LAX later than 2PM, you may miss opening night and you’ll have to make your own travel arrangements.
If you’ll need transportation to the airport on June 4th, there will be shuttles leaving at 10am. It takes two to three hours to get to the airport, so we advise against booking flights that leave before 3PM. If the 10AM shuttle won’t get you to the airport in time to make your flight, you’ll have to make your own travel arrangements. Options exists such as “getting a ride with another camper,” “bribing the kitchen staff” (no really this might be your best option) and “renting a car for a very low in-airport price.” Also, many campers stick around LA for the night or a few days or a few weeks, too, which is lots of fun!
5. If you need to cancel, you can just log back in to the registration interface and cancel!
6. QUESTIONS ABOUT REGISTRATION OR TRAVEL GO TO cool@autostraddle.com. (“COOL” stands for “Coordinator of Logistics”)
For More Information
On our A-Camp website, you’ll find our FAQ, the talent/staff we’ve got on board so far and a link to register the hell out of your unit. For more information about what goes on at A-Camp, you can check out our recaps from past camps and testimonies from campers about the joy of the experience. But A-Camp is whatever you make of it: every camper writes their own story. Come with your heart wide open and do whatever you want.
