Women, as well as men, could benefit from nature while camping, even though the 1872 newspaper article below assumed that only men camped. Camping exposed women to sports usually reserved for men. But, in the popular press, women were encouraged to bring along their maids so they would not have to engage in inappropriate labor and pursue the “sports” they enjoyed a home in the parlor, such as playing cards. Furthermore, camping was much more wholesome for women than popular resorts where a female was more likely to be tempted to flirt or engage in sinful pursuits. From Chapter 6 “Unfashionable, but for Once Happy! – Camping Vacations” in Working at Play, A History of Vacations in the United States by Cindy S. Aron
Image courtesy of Library of Congress.
“During the hot season everybody, it may be taken for granted that everyone wishes to be out of town, and equally certain it is that all who can get way, for ever so brief a period, do it. . . But given the desire and leisure for a run into the country, there constantly recurs the puzzling question where to go. And probably none find the question more difficult to answer than that large class of young men with small incomes and limited vacation. . . canoeing, hiking and camping are recommended.” “Camping Out” from New York Times, August 29, 1872
To learn more about vacationing through time, see Exploring Vacation and Etiquette Themes in Social Studies