The Civil War may be long over but the spirit of rebellion is hard to extinguish even in something as innocent as a girls’ summer camp. Southern Belle examines the 1861 Athenaeum Girls’ School where young women eagerly sign up to become that iconic and romantic image of Southern identity: the Southern belle, replete with hoop skirt, hat and gloves, singing the region’s anthem, Dixie. Never before have cameras been allowed to shadow the students and teachers during this intensive week of historical reenactment. Instructor and founder Mark Orman started the 1861 Girls’ School camp twenty years ago to create a living history experience that captured the essence of what young women would have gone through during that time. The camp is held in the headmaster’s home of what was originally a four-year college for young women from 1850-1904. The teachers, all of whom work for no compensation, hope to instill genteel manners and build pride in Southern heritage. Supporters argue that the camp provides a valuable experience for young women to understand the region’s- and many of their own families’- history. But critics believe that by promulgating a Southern identity that erases emancipation as a primary cause of the Civil War and glorifies a dis-empowered female image, the camp experience whitewashes history and misinforms the next generation. Is the camp a self-esteem building, living history experience or does it ultimately reinforce divisions between race, gender, and geography in the present?
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