The Real Story Of The YMCA That Inspired The Village People's Gay Anthem - Gothamist

Contents:

• THE REAL STORY OF THE YMCA THAT INSPIRED THE VILLAGE PEOPLE'S GAY ANTHEM
• 'I WOULDN'T FEEL SAFE AS A GAY CHELSEA PLAYER RIGHT NOW' - HOW THE BLU' LGBT+ FAN GROUP IS CHALLENGG -STADIUM ABE
• TRIUMPH OF THE SEXY NERD: GAY MILLENNIALS REJECT THE CHELSEA BOY
• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

THE REAL STORY OF THE YMCA THAT INSPIRED THE VILLAGE PEOPLE'S GAY ANTHEM

Beg told that somethg is homophobic, that ’s hurtful to both many Chelsea fans as well as many wh the Liverpool fanbase, should be enough to stop anyone sgg . It should be enough, and given those who did attempt to start the song on Saturday after beg told of s homophobia by Kop Outs and Jürgen Klopp himself ahead of the match were, by most reports, quickly shut down, perhaps even will be. Rather than tryg to nvce anyone for whom that isn’t enough, though, this article is tend as a rource for anyone who has felt trated tryg to expla the homophobia herent the chant to someone who sists they “don’t mean anythg by .

” For most, beg told a homophobic song is alienatg to queer supporters of any club, cludg fellow Liverpool supporters, would be enough to stop sgg the song. This article, then, is my attempt to pay forward: someone explaed to me, and I hope this n be a helpful gloss that n be ed for anyone who matas a willful ignorance so as to be able to keep sgg the song whilst claimg they aren’t exprsg homophobia while dog so.

They do this bee they worry that they would receive physil or verbal abe om homophobic people — often fans of their own team — if they didn’t. Chants like the rent boy chant — and reactns that suggt removg homophobic chants is beg “overly PC” — serve to remd queer supporters that they still don’t que belong. But when a group of people sgs somethg homophobic, those queer fans are remd that realy they aren’t que part of that llective.

'I WOULDN'T FEEL SAFE AS A GAY CHELSEA PLAYER RIGHT NOW' - HOW THE BLU' LGBT+ FAN GROUP IS CHALLENGG -STADIUM ABE

While the chant self don’t explicly abe LGBT fans, what do do, both general and pecially now that everyone has been told ’s homophobic, is ntribute to the general hostile atmosphere many queer people ntue to experience.

If you thk the sual homophobia herent the chant — ed, the homophobia that mak the chant work — is not important, you are sayg that you feel that sgg a homophobic chant is more important to you than allowg other supporters feel like they belong.

For far too long, homophobic sults have been ed to nigrate opposn players or fans, so 's time the thori took the issue serlyFor years, homophobia has been an easy, acceptable go-to for fans orr to nigrate opposn players or this fortable notn of vile abe jt beg part of the game is beg challenged, phed back, and January, the Crown Prosecutn Service (CPS) – the ma public agency for prosecutg crim England and Wal – announced that the "rent boys" chant often heard at football grounds Bra, and pecially aimed at Chelsea players eher at the club or on loan, is a hate crime, meang clubs whose fans sg the offensive songs n be punished as they would be for chant was heard recently at the League Cup semi-fal between Tottenham and Chelsea, and at Millwall vers Crystal Palace the FA Cup third round where on-loan Eagl midfielr Conor Gallagher was targeted, while Billy Gilmour has also been on the receivg end durg Norwich match this chant self dat back to the 1980s and the popular narrative regardg s orig is that a member of the famo right-wg hooligan group, the Chelsea Headhunters, was found bed wh a male prostute, or rent boy, durg a dawn raid by police, wh the news exposed by tabloids. "As a Chelsea fan, Glanvill says the chant mak him and many other supporters eply unhappy – not on acunt of their sexualy, but on the fact that homosexualy should not be viewed as somethg to be mocked, monised and says: "Irrpective of s origs, the tnt the ‘rent boys’ chant is that all Chelsea fans are gay and sex workers and, as a Blu fan, hearg directed at you uld leave you a quandary. "There’s also the propagatn of a nasty stereotype, prevalent at the height of the AIDS epimic, that gay people are more promiscuo and sleazy than straight people – who, let’s face , are jt as liable to e sex workers as the next person.

TRIUMPH OF THE SEXY NERD: GAY MILLENNIALS REJECT THE CHELSEA BOY

"It’s also hugely divisive to the support base of those sgg as there's an -built assumptn that no one the crowd uld possibly be homosexual and therefore hurt by what they’re hearg.

"Or if you are gay and support the same team perhaps they are ready wh the same ‘you’re alright, ’s the rt of you’ nce that was whispered to black and Asian people for years. "I jt fd pletely ignorant and prepostero, and although I’m never offend by a suggtn I might be homosexual, ’s the tentn behd the chant, as a slur and an sult to the gay muny, that mak abive. "Comg om a time when homophobia was the norm Brish society, the chant now liv on football stadiums, where n be stripped of all ntext and meang to be thrown out as a sual sult by those who know ltle and re ls about what they are is now beg challenged at a high level.

“Recently, we have seen an crease of reports racist and homophobic abe at football match and this is a disease we are termed to play our part cuttg out. “Along wh racist slurs, we have renfirmed that homophobic chants are unacceptable and uld be subject to prosecutn if there is sufficient evince after a police vtigatn. Step two is gettg the FA, the Premier League, the EFL, the Vanarama Leagu – homophobia don't jt stop at the Champnship – to llaborate on l that everyone n stick by.

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

"Durg the Millwall v Crystal Palace FA Cup game, you had the mentator apologisg for swearg, but nothg on the homophobia towards Conor Gallagher that you uld clearly hear.