Take the Young Stranger by the Hand: Same-Sex Relations and the YMCA [Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society]

Now associated with family health clubs, the YMCA's bland image is the result of relentless outreach and the studied avoidance of controversy. But, as John Gustav-Wrathall shows in his revealing social history of the organization, the life of the YMCA has been filled with strife, tragedy, and irony, a life that itself reflects the struggle over the shifting societal mores regarding masculine friendship and intimacy. Take the Young Stranger by the Hand presents the YMCA as an institution of profound contradictions, reflective of society's views of same-sex love and sexuality.

"Gustav-Wrathall's book offers an in-depth history of the origins and purposes of the Young Men's Christian Association and how it evolved into—and out of—a gay playland."—Arnie Kantrowitz, Lambda Book Report

"The book's absorbing exploration of the sometimes schismatic, sometimes synergistic relationship between spirituality and sexuality is a fascinating addition to the growing body of social history."—Jim Van Buskirk, San Francisco Bay Guardian

The early history of a peculiarly American institutionAthe YMCAAhere serves as a paradigm of late 19th- and early 20th-century American culture at large, at least as far as sexuality and Protestantism are concerned. Scholar Gustav-Wrathhall's history of the pre-WWII Y confirms what Jonathan Dollimore and others have demonstratedAthat the homosocial and homosexual are unstable categories that are constantly being redefined and are inextricable from definitions of the heterosexual. From the beginning, the author reports, passion and piety at the Y were closely linked. Passion came in the form of intense male friendships that may or may not have included an erotic component; piety was expressed in Christian brotherhood. Soon, he contends, such close relations became suspect, and the Y hierarchy attempted to develop new, less intimate models for masculine relations and for masculine identity itself, which, he contends, ironically fostered the image (and documented the reality) of the Y as an easily accessible site for male-to-male sexual "cruising." Originally written as a doctoral dissertation, the book retains some of its Ph.D.-like feel but is thankfully free of the academic terminology that mars so much work in the field of gender and sexuality.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The ubiquitous, mundane YMCA seems an unlikely subject for a scholarly study, but Gustav-Wrathall reveals that the Y has had a complex and fascinating history at odds with its bland public image. The Young Men's Christian Association was founded to provide spiritual sustenance in the burgeoning urban environment of the mid-19th century. By the turn of the century, the Y's mission had secularized and evolved into an emphasis on physical education, sex education, and facilities that overtly discouragedAbut covertly encouragedAhomosocial activity. From the pietistic early years of Christian brotherhood and passionate friendships under the auspices of the many bachelor administrators, to latter-day gay cruising celebrated in the raunchy eponymous Village People tune, the author amplifies the homoerotic undertones that have always been present. He draws on his own missionary and evangelical experiences to show that the relationship between the Y's Christian origins and homosexuality have been more synergistic than dichotomous. Highly recommended for all gay studies and human sexuality collections.ARichard Violette, Special Libraries Cataloging Inc., Victoria, BC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.