What fun did the Village People have when they stayed at the YMCA?

[me203]

Pool filtration systems have changed over the years, and so have fabrics used most commonly. Cotton used to be a big problem.

I've head this mentioned in various discussions about the nude swimming era. There was even some official guide that suggested nude swimming to help keep the pool cleaner/healthier up until IIRC the early 1960s.

 

[Rickrock]

There aren't many YMCA's in Cleveland, maybe 2 or 3. I know one on the west side closed. I'm also am not sure if any of them have any overnight facilities. I don't think that they do.

 

[Kahaih]

I've head this mentioned in various discussions about the nude swimming era. There was even some official guide that suggested nude swimming to help keep the pool cleaner/healthier up until IIRC the early 1960s.

@ early 1960s

Interesting? Coincidence?

"During the 1950s, circumcision rates soared in the United States, affecting Americans far beyond the Jewish community."

From;

Project MUSE - Medicalization and the Mainstreaming of Circumcision in Mid-twentieth-century America

muse.jhu.edu

 

[NotHardUp1]

"During the 1950s, circumcision rates soared in the United States, affecting Americans far beyond the Jewish community."

One wonders if there is a correlating rise in hospital births. At what point did middle class wealth and the notion that childbirth is a medical event take hold and the prior practice of home delivery with midwives wane?

After the advent of penicillin (in America) in the 1940's, and the terrible polio epidemic that hit in 1949, Americans were galvanized with the focus on disease prevention and eradication, and I think childbirth as a big killer got swept up and presumed to be needful of hospital care. Circumcision was and is seen as a routine hygienic-driven procedure, presumed to be conducted under sanitary conditions in hospitals. May not be correct, but just a guess at how we got to where we were in 1960.

 

[Thad1527]

I stayed at the Toronto Central YMCA before the Village People song. And I was so, so clueless.

Randy Jones, the original Village People cowboy, is quite gay.

 

[Thad1527]

Randy Jones (singer) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[jjonn3]

Of the couple of YMCA's I have known over the years none of them had overnight facilities - however I understand that many of them did in the past.

Like many kids I learned to swim at the local Y - and when I moved to California I joined the Y so I could swim but there was so much chlorine in the water (probably because of kids learning to swim there) that it was unusable.

 

[me203]

@ early 1960s

Interesting? Coincidence?

"During the 1950s, circumcision rates soared in the United States, affecting Americans far beyond the Jewish community."

From;

Project MUSE - Medicalization and the Mainstreaming of Circumcision in Mid-twentieth-century America

muse.jhu.edu

I'd guess this would be coincidental, but who knows? I think the reason why females generally (but not always) wore a swim suit even at female-only sessions was a societal view that modesty mattered for females. This would also have been the reason why a school might have curtained stalls in girls' locker room, but fully open showers in the boys' locker room.

 

[me203]

One wonders if there is a correlating rise in hospital births. At what point did middle class wealth and the notion that childbirth is a medical event take hold and the prior practice of home delivery with midwives wane?

After the advent of penicillin (in America) in the 1940's, and the terrible polio epidemic that hit in 1949, Americans were galvanized with the focus on disease prevention and eradication, and I think childbirth as a big killer got swept up and presumed to be needful of hospital care. Circumcision was and is seen as a routine hygienic-driven procedure, presumed to be conducted under sanitary conditions in hospitals. May not be correct, but just a guess at how we got to where we were in 1960.

There is a graph showing circumcision rates and hospital births towards the bottom of this page:

U.S. Circumcision Statistics

This page provides incidence on the rate of child circumcision in America.

www.cirp.org

It looks like both increased, but it's not a perfect match between the two lines.

But (of course) this is based on the data they have, and they indicate that statistics are hard to come by.

 

[NotHardUp1]

There is a graph showing circumcision rates and hospital births towards the bottom of this page:

U.S. Circumcision Statistics

This page provides incidence on the rate of child circumcision in America.

www.cirp.org

It looks like both increased, but it's not a perfect match between the two lines.

But (of course) this is based on the data they have, and they indicate that statistics are hard to come by.

That's interesting. Thank you.

Two other data points and trends would likely be relevant: the percentage of Americans living in urban areas vs. rural, by decade, and the same for those within a reasonable driving distance to a hospital.

As America has become urban, rural ways (like midwifery) have faded. Similar transition from home gardens to buying produce likely exists.

 

[me203]

Two other data points and trends would likely be relevant: the percentage of Americans living in urban areas vs. rural, by decade, and the same for those within a reasonable driving distance to a hospital.

Yes.

I'd also be curious seeing statistics showing area of the US. That seems to make a difference with the more recent decades. I imagine the same would be true of the 1950s.

 

[Kahaih]

We were discussing boys/men swimming nude in public pools, and when the practice seemed to suddenly stop.

When the glans is exposed permanently, via circumcision, the only way to cover it (modesty) is by artificial means -- swimsuits.

 

[Kahaih]

And, I've never heard of any Little YMCA on the Prairie.

 

[me203]

When the glans is exposed permanently, via circumcision, the only way to cover it (modesty) is by artificial means -- swimsuits.

True point--but back in that era there was the belief that males didn't need/want modesty in sitautions like locker rooms or male only swimming sessions.

 

[NotHardUp1]

We were discussing boys/men swimming nude in public pools, and when the practice seemed to suddenly stop.

This article seems to explain it as a consequence of the development of chorinization and sythetic fabrics (as has been mentioned earlier in the thread), along with the urbanization of the country (which we were also discussing.)

Historic Archives - Nude Male Swimming - C. Public Schools, Municipal Pools and YMCA - History of Mandated Nude Swimming

When the Internet became popular in the late 1980s, heated debates took place on forums and blogs concerning the customs of the mid and early 20th century that required all boys that participated in swimming activities to do so in the nude whereas all girls were allowed to wear suits. But the

sites.google.com

The change appears to be unrelated to circumcision.

Extra points for sleuths (I'm looking at you, Johaninsc). Who the hell runs the site I found? It seems awfully dodgy, not necessarily AI, but could even be a member here.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I have to admit, the more I explored the site above and its pages, to find NO owners cited, and to find and excessive amount of boy nudity in the pics, I fear it may be driven by some Lambda holdovers or such. It reminds me of why JUB has a strict rule to avoid pedo posting.

Not sure it's a harmless as our conversation has been.

 

[Kahaih]

/\ Thanks

Just skimmed the website to see who the author is, and it appears no one wants to take credit or responsibility for the article.

There was at least one apology for the collection of documents/facts being incomplete.

At this point, I don't know what that is, but it doesn't look like much more than opinion, or only what the author(s) chose to present.

~~~~~~

Looks like we were posting at the same time.

 

[Kahaih]

It only occurred to me last night that the C stands for Christian.

And, I wonder how much that might influence/control how much fun could be had at the Young Men's Christian Association.

 

[NotHardUp1]

It only occurred to me last night that the C stands for Christian.

And, I wonder how much that might influence/control how much fun could be had at the Young Men's Christian Association.

Surely.

We know that they haven't had the secks.

On the other hand, the pagans do look more intriguing. Can imagine what forward pass practice might entail . . .

https://www.dreamstime.com/confiden...ck-pagan-male-national-make-up-image206503672

 

[lockeroomguy]

NYC YMCA 1940.