The YMCA removed several webpages outlining policies that allow boys who identify as girls to access female cabins, showers and locker rooms following backlash from a national parent group.

The takedown came days after the American Parents Coalition published a warning to families Wednesday about YMCA summer camps permitting biological males into private spaces designated for girls. The now-removed materials — which were archived — included guidelines encouraging staff to affirm “gender identity” over sex and to withhold such information from parents.

“Parents deserve the truth — especially when it involves the possibility that their children could be put in a situation where they’re expected to share private spaces with members of the opposite sex,” said Alleigh Marré, executive director of the coalition.

Archived versions of the removed pages show the YMCA’s national body had issued guidance dating as far back as 2017 encouraging affiliates to give campers access to facilities based on self-declared gender identity. One page, titled “How to Creat ea Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Campers,” states that camp workers should “ensure all campers have access to the facilities aligned with their gender identity.”

Guidance from Camp Olson, a YMCA facility in Minnesota, advised against notifying families if their child decided to come out as transgender at the camp, stating that “an individual should not be outed without their permission … to other participants, staff, or their own families” — adding that biological sex “should not dictate the use of gendered space.” Other now-removed YMCA webpages included recommendations to feature transgender individuals in promotional material, partner with LGBT advocacy groups and read books like “George” — a novel about a boy who wants to be a girl — to children as young as four. (Read more from “YMCA Scrubs Trans Guidance After Parent Group Uproar” HERE)

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