LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
PAST Out: What's so gay about the YMCA? |
by Paula Martinac |
When the Village People sang about the "fun" young men could have at the YMCA, their lyrics were a nod to the history of intimate male bonding at this American institution. Almost from its inception in the mid-19th century, the YMCA provided a meeting place for men who sought each other's company, not just for friendship, but for romance and sex. Founded in 1844 in London, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was imported to North America seven years later. As industrialization brought young, single men to urban areas, Christian leaders wanted to steer male youth away from sexual licentiousness and toward "wholesome" activities like Bible study. The organization's mission gradually included sex education and physical training, too, since keeping the body fit was supposed to ward off "immorality." The popularity of the Y's physical program resulted in the construction of the vast network of gymnasiums and pools with which the YMCA is now so strongly identified. When the YMCA was in its early decades, the word "homosexuality" had not even been coined. Still, a number of the YMCA's "secretaries"men who oversaw local programs and facilitieswere lifelong bachelors. Like the many "spinster" social workers of the late 1800s who entered into Boston marriagesintimate domestic arrangements with other womenthe Y's male secretaries often coupled off and lived together in passionate friendships that may have been sexual. Well-known among these couples were Richard C. Morse and Robert R. McBurney, who co-habited for five years in one of the Y's dormitories. (Interestingly, the YMCA in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, now a gay enclave, was named for McBurney, who never married.) Before sexologists began to study and pathologize same-sex desire in the early 1900s, these bachelor couples were widely revered in Y culture. But at the turn of the 20th century, there were indications among YMCA officials of a growing nervousness about homosexuality within the ranks of counselors and members. Bachelor secretaries were frowned on, and married men began to occupy those respected positions. One gay historian has discovered official Y pamphlets from that era that discussed "sexual perversion" and "unnameable immoralities." In a 1909 publication, an association leader warned his colleagues about "ladylike" and "lisping" men who preyed on young boys. In fact, there seems to have been significant homosexual activity at YMCAs by the 1910s, which gay historians have learned about through the records of several well-documented scandals. In 1912, for example, in Portland, Ore., more than 50 men were indicted in a gay cruising scandal at that city's Y. What so shocked the local citizenry was that most of the arrested men were upstanding, middle-class members of societydoctors, lawyers, and businessmennot "lisping" fairies. Court testimony from the scandal points to a thriving gay culture in Portland at that time, in which men made sexual contacts with each other not only at the Y, but in parks and other public spaces. Similarly, a scandal in Newport, R.I., a few years later further demonstrated how common it was for men and boys to use the Y for assignations. The port city's Army and Navy YMCA opened in 1911 and was often filled to overflowing when the fleet was in. In 1919, Newport's Naval Training Stationunder orders from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Rooseveltbegan a campaign to entrap men engaging in homosexual acts. The sting operation resulted in the arrest of three dozen sailors and civilians. The decoys the navy used reported that the Y, as well as beaches and wharves, were hotbeds of same-sex coupling. But even well-publicized scandals didn't stop gay activity at YMCAs. Cruising was especially heightened from 1940 to 1960. In many cities, the YMCA provided one of the only places where young gay menwho, during wartime, may have been away from home for the first timecould safely meet each other and have sex. Word spread via the gay grapevine that certain Y branches were especially cruisy, like Sloane House in Manhattan. When it came to gay cruising, it's likely that many Y officials discreetly looked the other way to avoid the negative publicity that the incidents in Portland and Newport had brought on the hallowed institution. Also, anecdotes from older gay men suggest that many of the YMCA desk clerks may have been queer themselves and therefore didn't want to call attention to gay activity. In addition, as years went by, the Y was becoming more secular and less tied to the "C" in its name. Several developments in the 1960s led to a decline in gay cruising at the Y, including the increased admission of women to membership and a marketing campaign geared to heterosexual families. But homosexuality at the Y remained an issue, especially after President Lyndon Johnson's chief of staff, Walter Jenkins, was arrested with another man in the bathroom of Washington's G Street YMCA in 1964. The Village People's tune "YMCA" topped the charts in 1978 and eventually went platinumin fact, the campy tribute was the group's biggest hit and became a gay anthem. Today, the YMCA still occupies a revered spot in gay culture for its pivotal role in helping to foster gay male sexuality throughout the 20th century. Paula Martinac is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author of seven books, including The Queerest Places: A Guide to Gay and Lesbian Historic Sites. She can be reached care of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth or at POcolumn@aol.com. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 12, No. 02, March 8, 2002. |