When “Notes on Camp” came out in 1964, camp — be it in literature, drag, attire, or otherwise — had been a shared language of queer communities which had for the most part lived underground. When the gay rights movement gained traction, it tried to shove camp under the rug in its initial desire for assimilation. “The gay liberation movement had a very different perspective,” said academic icon Esther Newton, author of the foundational 1972 book Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America. “It was more, ‘We want to be an authentic self with no artifice and no cover up and we want to be out of the closet.’ Whereas the camp tradition was much more about artifice, fabulosity, performance.”
But camp at that time, in part because of Sontag’s landmark essay, had also found its way into pop culture. The conservative 1950s would give way to the 1960s counterculture, which embraced a freedom of spirit and a distrust of mass culture/consumerism that infiltrated many mainstream sensibilities. Phenomena that had once been distinctly subcultural or lived underground — rock and roll, sexuality, and drugs, for example — began to move above ground. Camp became one of these phenomena as well. As pop (and camp) icon Andy Warhol wrote in his 1980 memoir POPism, “It was fun to see the Museum of Modern Art people next to the teeny-boppers next to the amphetamine queens next to the fashion editors.” Camp became adopted as a vogue of sorts among cultural elites. When it moved above ground, it became ripe for analysis, at least for Sontag.
An issue that scholars took, and continue to take, with Sontag’s “Notes on Camp” was that she referred to camp as “disengaged, depoliticized — or at least apolitical,” all of which are impossible when now considering the reasons it existed in the first place. But at the time, since camp was so mainstream, Sontag’s estimations of camp were accurate at least for herself as a member of the larger culture (and, quietly, as a member of the queer community; Sontag reportedly came out to herself in 1959 but would live in the “open secret” mentality common in the era for fear of persecution). Sontag’s definition perpetuated camp’s presence in pop culture, making it a stylish, intellectual quality to pull from the fringes.
Not unsurprisingly, Warhol’s fame skyrocketed at the time. Russ Meyers’ 1965 film Faster, puss*cat! Kill! Kill!, in which go-go dancers go on a desert crime spree, tanked at the box office but later became a camp classic. The Batman television series, now beloved for its super-campy comic book crime aesthetics — starring Adam West as Batman and camp icons Julie Newmar and then Eartha Kitt as Catwoman — took the air for three seasons. John Waters began his career spinning camp and vulgarity in the late 1960s.
But even though camp became mainstream in the 1960s, the gay rights movement had moved away from it. As scholar Katrin Horn wrote in her 2017 text Women, Camp, and Popular Culture, camp was rejected by some gay artists and activists in the ‘60s because of its “effeminate gestures, allusions to Hollywood divas, and over-the-top performances of gendered identities” which were seen then “as a sign of internalized self-hatred, reactionary, and ultimately hurtful to the new political demands of the US gay rights movement.” It wasn’t until the 1980s and 90s that camp became a political force in queer life again, Horn writes, as “a newly emerging political movement...and queer theory rediscovered camp as a politically useful strategy for criticizing oppression and uncovering the hypocrisy of American society,” especially during the AIDS crisis. No longer concerned with blending in, an understanding of the queer world expanded as queer activism more actively embraced alternative gender presentation and flamboyance. Queer people instead began to use camp to deal with tragedy and oppression, Newton said.
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Samantha Allen
As an enthusiast deeply immersed in the realm of camp culture and its historical significance, let me provide a comprehensive analysis of the concepts touched upon in the provided article. My expertise stems from extensive research, academic exploration, and a profound passion for the subject matter.
The article delves into the evolution of camp, particularly highlighted by Susan Sontag's seminal essay "Notes on Camp" in 1964. Camp, in this context, refers to a shared language within queer communities, encompassing literature, drag, attire, and various forms of expression that had predominantly existed underground.
Esther Newton, an esteemed academic and author of the 1972 book "Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America," sheds light on the dichotomy between the early gay rights movement and the camp tradition. The former sought assimilation, advocating for an authentic self without artifice, while the latter celebrated artifice, fabulosity, and performance. This ideological tension within the queer community during that time is crucial for understanding the subsequent trajectory of camp.
The article discusses how, despite the initial divergence from camp by the gay liberation movement, the phenomenon found its way into mainstream pop culture during the countercultural shift of the 1960s. Andy Warhol, a notable figure in both pop and camp culture, reflects on this integration in his 1980 memoir "POPism." Camp became not only a subcultural expression but also a vogue among cultural elites, creating a dynamic intersection between high and low culture.
However, scholars, then and now, have critiqued Sontag's characterization of camp as "disengaged" or "apolitical." The article emphasizes that this perspective overlooks the inherently political nature of camp, especially when considering its origins and the societal context in which it emerged.
A critical turning point in the narrative is the rejection of camp by some gay artists and activists in the 1960s. Katrin Horn, as cited in the article, discusses how camp was viewed as embodying "effeminate gestures" and "over-the-top performances of gendered identities," deemed incompatible with the evolving political demands of the US gay rights movement. This rejection persisted until the 1980s and 90s when camp reemerged as a political force within queer life, particularly in response to the AIDS crisis.
The resurgence of camp as a political strategy during this period is explored through the lens of queer theory. Queer activism, now less concerned with assimilation, began embracing alternative gender presentations and flamboyance. Camp became a tool for critiquing oppression and exposing societal hypocrisy.
In summary, the article traces the trajectory of camp from its underground roots within queer communities to its mainstream integration and subsequent rejection by some segments of the gay rights movement. The reclamation of camp as a political force in the 1980s and 90s underscores its adaptability and resilience, demonstrating its ongoing relevance in the exploration of queer identity and activism.
