Y.M.C.A. – A Christian Organization or a Gay Hub?

The above image is a snippet from the Village People’s music video for “Y.M.C.A.” Notice, the McBurney Y.M.C.A., which is located in New York City and was where Randy Jones first stayed when he moved to New York City, is in the background (“Casablanca Records”).

What inspired the Village People to create “Y.M.C.A.”?

According to an interview, Randy Jones, the cowboy, shared that the song was inspired by him telling Morali about how he “joined the McBurney Y.M.C.A. on 23rd Street” when he first moved to New York City in 1975 (Pearlman). During his conversation with Morali, Jones shared his experience, which “fascinated” Morali (Pearlman). Not only was Morali “fascinated by a place where a person could work out with weights, play basketball, swim, take classes, and get a room,” but he was also impressed by the fact that Jones had spent time with “[men] in the adult-film industry” (Pearlman). Per Jones, this impressed Morali because he could finally “[meet] the people he had seen in the videos and magazines,” which consequently planted a seed in Morali’s mind for a track encompassing the magic of Y.M.C.A. (Pearlman). While creating and producing their album Cruisin’, they needed a filler song, so Morali wrote “Y.M.C.A.,” and, according to David Hodo, the construction worker, “he gave it to Victor Willis (the cop and lead singer), to fill in the rest” (Pearlman). When they first heard “Y.M.C.A.,” they knew that it would be a smash hit because it was reminiscent of a commercial, and “everyone loves commercials” (Pearlman).

The Misinterpretation of “YMCA”

Even though Randy Jones claimed that Morali was inspired by his adventures at the Y.M.C.A., having a musical group that was birthed out of the New York City’s gay disco scene perform a song about the Y.M.C.A. is profound. Y.M.C.A., which stands for the Young Men’s Christian Association, is a Christian organization meant to be a place for men to live and socialize with other men (Clark et al.). However, despite the organization’s religious origins, Y.M.C.A.’s served as a temporary home for many gay youths who were kicked out of their family’s homes due to their sexual orientation (Clark et al.). As many young gay men began to live and visit Y.M.C.A.’s, many Y.M.C.A. establishments quickly developed into hook-up scenes. This was exemplified in a gay man’s diary, for the Y.M.C.A. was a place for him to engage in “erotic adventures with soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians” (Clark et al. 472). The Y.M.C.A. was a perfect place for gay men to find and explore their identities  and sexuality, for Y.M.C.A.’s gender segregation actually promoted homosexuality (Gustav-Wrathall). This was epitomized in a 1930 Y.M.C.A. report, for the organization worried that “‘too much activity within his own group is quite abnormal and may lead to homosexual tendencies'” (Gustav-Wrathall 137). These “homosexual tendencies” were primarily referring to cruising, the act of searching for a sexual partner (Gustav-Wrathall 159). So, for a gay disco group to have a track titled “Y.M.C.A.,” in which they celebrate and praise the organization, on an album named Cruisin’ is quite controversial and paradoxical.

Pictured above is the sheet music for “Y.M.C.A.” (“Sheet Music for ‘Y.M.C.A.'”)

“Y.M.C.A.” was controversial because it was a disco song and many New York City gay clubs claimed disco as their genre and music. The song has a very prominent strong bass line that creates a four-on-the-floor pulse, which is a characteristic of many disco tracks. Interestingly, the syncopated brass sound is reminiscent of funk; however, when this is combined with the driving pulse beat, a dancing groove is established, making it a track that was perfect for a disco club. Lyrically, the song embodies the disco genre because its lyrics contain gay undertones. Scholar Alex Midgley notes that the song was “a paean to the opportunities for gay socialization and sex that the Y.M.C.A. facilities provided” (105). However, the song’s gay subtext was unexplored by many scholars, including Midgley.

In the song, Victor Willis, the cop, sings, “You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find / Many ways to have a good time,” and “They have everything for you men to enjoy / You can hang out with all the boys” (Morali et al.). Here, the gay subtext is fairly clear, for Willis is hinting at Y.M.C.A.’s reputation for being a place for gay men to engage in sexual acts with the “many ways to have a good time” and “[hanging] out with all the boys.” Even though the song has a gay subtext, the song became a big hit in homophobic America because they “[misinterpreted] the song as an anodyne appreciation for the Y, an organization that promoted good Christian masculine values and responsibilities” (Midgley 105). Moreover, this song was typically misunderstood by mainstream America because the song has a commercial sound with its jingle-like hook, feel good timbre, and easy-to-remember lyrics that advertises Y.M.C.A. as a fun place for young men, causing many to become unaware of the song’s gay undertones. This commercial sound, as well as the gay subtext, is further reinforced by the song’s repetition of “young man,” which happens three times in the verses. By repeating “young man,” listeners know the target audience of the song because the Village People are addressing young men, “Young man, there’s no need to feel down / I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground / I said, young man, ’cause you’re in a new town” (Morali et al.). This also represents that they are targeting young, gay men because the subtext of the lyrics is celebrating Y.M.C.A.’s reputation for gay cruising. This gay subtext is reminiscent of Mitchell Morris’s “It’s Raining Men: The Weather Girls, Gay Subjectivity, and the Erotics of Insatiability.” Similar to the Weather Girls who depict themselves as the weather girls for their audience of gay men, the Village People are addressing their audience of young gay men by simply saying “young man” and having gay undertones (Morris 219). Given the song’s disco characteristics, gay subtext, and commercial-like sound, “Y.M.C.A.” was misinterpreted by mainstream, straight America because it celebrated a Christian organization as a place for gay men to engage in sexual activities.