TORONTO — Two Ontario summer camp programs were forced to do some hasty rebranding recently after backlash against perceived sexism in some of their offerings.
But the efforts have won mixed reactions, with some questioning whether they have truly addressed the concerns raised.
The town of Richmond Hill drew the ire of some parents through their "Boyz Rule" and "Girlz Rock" programs over the past few days.
The first one offered roller blading, biking, ultimate frisbee and other sports, while the latter touted mini-manicures, cooking and baking lessons among its activities.
The town has since renamed the camps "Extreme Sports" and "Kidz Rock" without making changes to the program content.
Ottawa's Dovercourt Recreation Centre, which once offered boys' programs featuring video games and paintball alongside girls' camps focused on fitness tips and lessons on making healthy snacks, has opted to overhaul its programs across the board.
Ariel Troster, an Ottawa mother who drew attention to both camps through her social media profiles, said gender stereotyping cannot be addressed with a simple name change.
"I think there's a time and a place for some segregation, especially for girls when they're in a confidence building phase," Troster said in a telephone interview. "But if you're going to have sex segregation for children's programming, it needs to increase their opportunities and not decrease their opportunities."
A spokesman for the town of Richmond Hill, located just north of Toronto, says equality has always been a key focus.
Meeta Gandhi said nearly all camps were always open to boys and girls, including the two programs that came under fire. The only exception, she said, is an all-female sports camp designed around research suggesting women can gain athletic confidence in a unisex environment.
Gandhi said the former "Boyz Rule" and "Girlz Rock" programs have enjoyed consistently high enrolment since 2008, adding both programs are already two-thirds full for the 2016 season.
She said the numbers suggest there is a demand for the program content and that parents with objections have no shortage of alternatives to pursue.
"We have over 80 camp programs, and each program serves a variety of interests," she said. "We want to make sure we meet the needs of the people who register their children."
The Richmond Hill camp flyer has been revised to strip gender references from the program descriptions.
Gone are reference to "extreme sports for boys" and "every girl's dream camp," replaced with gender-neutral language.
Dovercourt took things a step further, issuing a statement saying it was re-evaluating both the names and the content of its summer camp offerings.
The about-face was prompted by backlash to its Youth Zone programs, which offered six camps separately targeting both genders.
Camps for boys were called "man cave," "grease monkeys" and "Clubhouse," offering activities ranging from paintball to car maintenance.
Girls, on the other hand, could choose between "Fit Chicks, "Girls' Night Out" and "Real Beauty" where they could partake in self-esteem workshops, jewelry-making and lessons on how to prepare healthy snacks.
Troster condemned Dovercourt's initial offerings for reinforcing outdated notions of gender roles in society, arguing vehicle maintenance and healthy food preparation were equally relevant to boys and girls.
Dovercourt issued a statement saying it had come to the same conclusion.
"We believe that there still is a place for gender-specific programs to achieve a positive societal or individual outcome," the centre wrote. "The decision to offer such a program must pass a higher test than 'it’s something girls like or something boys like.' For example, to create a safe, comfortable and welcoming space for them to learn, or for gender specific issues. That was not the case with our language for our summer youth zone camps, and for that we apologize."
Marketing anything along gender-specific lines is a difficult balancing act, according to at least one expert.
Angus Tucker, Executive Creative Director at John St. Advertising, has been involved in campaigns criticizing the use of feminist slogans in patronizing or inappropriate ways.
He acknowledges, however, that gender-oriented marketing has been successful and lucrative for decades.
That success won't be continued in 2016 by falling back on easy stereotypes, he said.
"It's not the stereotypes that we re
