Take the Young Stranger by the Hand: Same-Sex Relations and the YMCA

by John Donald Gustav-Wrathall

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

Genres: Academic

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Matthew Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is interesting because it's structured in a way that feels more like a personal journey than it is. A history of the founding of the YMCA, a tendency for organizational leadership to be unmarried, the intermingling of the sexes, the story of women in the organization, and then finally the sexy parts about bodybuilding culture and cruising. A third of this book is completely uninteresting to the casual reader but the rest of it is engaging enough. Only a few mentions of Newport, though.

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book that covers the ways in which the early YMCA created a safe space for same-sex attraction to be expressed before becoming obsessed with "selling" heterosexuality to young men and becoming more family-focused.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hidden history and good coverage too of female membership in the YMCA