When you know you know

Camp is a socially constructed concept that is difficult to conceptualize, but its roots with queer culture have long been established. For queer people, Camp is a mode of self-expression, a secret language, and a lens to view the world, emphasizing irony, dramatics, and defiance. Consequently, it became a queer subculture that could help make sense of one's queer identity, connect them with others, and make queerness visible in society. In previous literature, Camp is defined as a solely gay male subculture, neglecting the experiences of other queer identities, such as queer women. Moreover, the concept remains underexplored in contemporary research, with most research originating from the twentieth century, which claimed that Camp would fade into irrelevance once queer rights advanced. This raises the question of how younger, female generations experience Camp in the context of contemporary queer politics and media. Therefore, the following research question is posed: "How do queer women (18-28) experience Camp today?" This study built on thirteen in-depth interviews with queer women, who identified as queer, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and asexual, aligning with Queer Theory (de Lauretis, 1990, p.iv). The data was analyzed by conducting a Thematic Analysis, aided by the coding software Atlas.ti. It aimed to find out which meanings they ascribed to Camp, which motivations they had for engaging with it, and which purpose they thought it served in society. The findings reveal that Camp is not solely a gay male experience that has faded into irrelevance since queer rights have advanced. Contemporary queer women understand Camp, interact with Camp, express Camp in their fashion, and connect with other queer people by talking about Camp. Moreover, their conceptualizations are similar to previous scholars, such as its relation to queerness, unseriousness, defiance of norms, dramatics, and social construction, connecting it to contemporary media and online spaces. Notably, queer women do experience a certain distance or exclusion from Camp, because they either do not feel that their sexualities are defying the norm as much, or because they do not perceive their personalities as that over-the-top. Ultimately, this study shows that Camp is understood across generations, sexualities, and gender identities. Camp is a queer counterculture that is difficult to define but is deeply understood by those who live it.