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Tod Perry

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Village People singer tries to deny that ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is a gay anthem and fails spectacularly

So, you're saying it's the ultimate gay anthem, right?

via Mario Casciano/WikimediaCommons

The Village People in 1978.

“Y.M.C.A.,” the 1978 disco smash by the Village People, has recently experienced a renaissance. In November, it hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance/Digital Song Sales chart after being prominently featured in Donald Trump’s rallies since 2020. Trump's dance, where he pumps his fists back and forth to the song, has also become a popular celebration dance in the sports world.

“You know what gets ’em rockin? ‘Y.M.C.A.,’” Trump said on a podcast in 2022, according to NBC News. “‘Y.M.C.A.’ gets people up and it gets them moving.” However, many people have noted the irony that Trump and his conservative supporters have embraced the song, given its reputation for being a gay anthem.



Who are the Village People?

The song was written by the Village People’s lead singer, Victor Willis who is straight and producer Jacques Morali who is gay.

The Village People is a disco group of predominantly gay men who symbolize American masculinity and macho gay-fantasy personas. The band is fronted by Victor Willis, who played a police officer, with backing vocalists and dancers featuring a cowboy, construction worker, native American, leatherman, and GI.



The band was put together to appeal to a gay audience that loved disco music, but their mainstream success meant that some in the audience missed the gay references but still loved bopping to massive hits such as “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.” Trump and his supporters' embrace of the song have many wondering if the Village People effect was happening again. Are Trump supporters oblivious to the fact that “Y.M.C.A.” is known as a gay anthem, or is it just not a big deal to them? While Trump himself has generally been supportive of gay and lesbian individual (he was the first Republican to feature a gay speaker at a presidential convention in 2016) the Republican Party has long been opposed to LGBT rights.



Is 'Y.M.C.A.' a gay anthem?

On December 2, 2024, Willis made a bold proclamation on his Facebook page, denying that the song was a gay anthem while simultaneously illustrating its undeniably gay roots. “There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life,” Willis wrote.

“This assumption is also based on the fact that the YMCA was apparently being used as some sort of gay hangout and since one of the writers was gay and some of the Village People are gay, the song must be a message to gay people. To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not,” he continued.



Randy Jones, who played the cowboy in the group, tells a different story when discussing the song's origins. In 2008, he claimed he took Morali to the McBurney YMCA on Manhattan’s West 23rd Street around four times in 1977 and the producer was “fascinated” by the place.

“Plus, with Jacques being gay, I had a lot of friends I worked out with who were in the adult film industry, and he was impressed by meeting people he had seen in the videos and magazines. Those visits with me planted a seed in him, and that’s how he got the idea for ‘Y.M.C.A,'” Jones said.

Willis refutes the idea that Morali gave him the idea for the song in his Facebook post. “As I stated on numerous occasions, I knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays when I wrote the lyrics to Y.M.C.A. and Jacques Morali (who was gay) never once stated such to me,” he wrote. “In fact, Jacques never once told me how to write my lyrics otherwise I would have said to him, you don’t need me, why don’t you simply write the lyrics.”



Although Willis wrote the song and has the right to determine what it’s about, he does a poor job of claiming it isn’t a gay anthem after admitting it was written in collaboration with a gay man for a predominantly gay group in a genre with a big gay audience and an album called "Cruisin'" about a place that was known for gay hookups.

That is a helluva coincidence, don't you think?

Donald Trump Head Nod GIFGiphy

Further, regardless of Willis’ intentions with the song, it has been embraced by the gay community as an anthem. An artist can control what he creates, but how the audience reacts is beyond their control. When a group of predominantly gay men sings about a “young man” who can find “everything for you men to enjoy” and “many ways to have a good time” as they “hang out with all the boys,” it’s impossible to divorce the words from the context.

That’s the beauty of music. A song can have multiple meanings depending on who is performing it. On the other hand, if a traditionally masculine singer such as Rod Stewert or James Brown had sung “Macho Man,” it would have meant something entirely different back in 1978.

It’s also worth noting that Trump was not Willis’ preferred candidate in the election and he found his use of the song in the past a “nuisance.” He also doesn’t mind “that gays think of the song as their anthem” but that it was meant to appeal to “people of all stripes.” That being said, Willis says that starting in January 2025, any news organization that “falsely” refers to “Y.M.C.A.” as a gay anthem will be sued.

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Identity

'Made me smile': Jimmy Carter’s quote about homosexuality and the Bible resurfaces

Carter was always ahead of his time.

via Commonwealth Club/Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Carter at the COmmonwealth Club.

Jimmy Carter, 99, was the 39th president of the United States (1977 to 1981). Looking back on his achievements both in and out of office, it’s easy to say that he was a man ahead of his time. He was far ahead of the mainstream when it came to advocating for social justice, human rights, and the environment.

Carter famously installed solar panels on the White House in 1979, only to have them removed by Ronald Reagan.

The former peanut farmer and Navy Lieutenant from Plains, Georgia, was also far ahead of his time when supporting gay rights. In 1976, while running for president, he said he would sign the Equality Act, an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. “I will certainly sign it, because I don’t think it’s right to single out homosexuals for special abuse or special harassment,” he said.

He continued to advocate for gay rights as president. In 1977, the first gay delegation visited the White House. He also campaigned against California’s Proposition 6, which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in the state’s schools and was the first Democratic president to endorse gay rights in the party’s platform in 1980.

It may seem unusual for Cater, a confessed born-again Christian, to be a staunch advocate for gay rights. But he has publicly said that he believes that being pro-gay is wholly aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Carter’s advocacy is in the spotlight once again after a meme featuring his thoughts about Christ and homosexuality from 2012 went viral on Reddit's MadeMeSmile forum on April 8, 2024.

Jimmy Carter
byu/PR0CR45T184T0R inMadeMeSmile

The viral quote was taken from an interview with the Huffington Post in 2012, during which Carter promoted his book, “NIV, Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter.” At the time, LGBTQ rights were the subject of heated debate in Washington, and President Obama had just “evolved” and began publicly supporting same-sex marriage.

"A lot of people point to the Bible for reasons why gay people should not be in the church or accepted in any way,” the interviewer Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush said. But Carter responded by correctly noting that Jesus Christ never said anything about homosexuality.

"Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things—he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies,” Carter said. "I draw the line, maybe arbitrarily, in requiring by law that churches must marry people. I'm a Baptist, and I believe that each congregation is autonomous and can govern its own affairs.

"So if a local Baptist church wants to accept gay members on an equal basis, which my church does, by the way, then that is fine. If a church decides not to, then government laws shouldn't require them to,” he continued.

Three years later, Carter shared the same sentiments in another interview with the Huffington Post, this time shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. “I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else,” Carter said.

Jimmy Carter’s belief in gay rights stems from his faith as a Christian, but it’s also in complete alignment with his values as an American. Carter believed that the United States was a “beacon” for human rights, and in his 1981 presidential farewell address, he reminded the nation that the job was an ongoing struggle.

“The battle for human rights – at home and abroad – is far from over,” Carter said. “If we are to serve as a beacon for human rights, we must continue to perfect here at home the rights and values which we espouse around the world: A decent education for our children, adequate medical care for all Americans, an end to discrimination against minorities and women, a job for all those able to work, and freedom from injustice and religious intolerance.”


This article originally appeared in April

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Family

Mom with adopted kids shares why low-income children deserve high-quality items from toy drives

"Children should never have to pay for the mistakes of their parents.”

via Canva/Photos

A child receives a gift at a toy drive.

A TikTok user named Annie made a thought-provoking post on October 28, 2024, asking people to consider holiday toy drives from the perspective of those receiving gifts. This resulted in some pushback from those who believe the recipients should be happy just to get a gift. However, Annie understands the perspective of those who receive gifts during holiday toy drives because she adopted three of her four children and once lived in a children’s home.

“I think there's an idea, a concept, that people who are low-income should just be grateful for whatever they receive. Whatever we give them, they should be thankful for it. Whatever gifts kids have to open they should just be thankful for it because we gave it to them,” she said. “If you have not been on the receiving end of some of that, you may not have a full understanding of what that looks like.”

She urged people to buy quality toys for children because low-cost gifts may bring them more heartache than joy. Annie says many kids are disappointed when they get the “Dollar Store Barbie” that breaks in 24 hours while being told to be grateful for the gift.

“That is about the giver feeling good and not about the receiver. If we're going to buy things for people for Christmas, if we are going to donate to toy drives, if we are going to adopt a family, if we're if we're going to take that step of empathy and compassion can we fully consider the people we are purchasing for and what matters to them?” she asked.

@mom.behind.the.scenes

This applies x10000 to children in foster care. The expectation of gratitude isnt an appropriate way to give. #gratitude #holidays #adoptafamily #charity

Annie received angry comments from people who disagreed with her post, saying, “Nah beggars can’t be choosers boo” and “If you’re not teaching your children gratitude, you’re teaching them entitlement.”

However, many supported her belief that low-income kids shouldn’t be treated as second-class citizens. “I volunteered somewhere once that had a motto of quality = dignity, and I think of that a lot,” one commenter wrote. “Oh, I like that,” Annie responded.

Annie returned with a follow-up video a little less than a month later, sharing an important point about when she was a child asking for toy drive gifts. “None of us were asking strangers for those gifts,” she said about her time in a children’s home. We were asking Santa or a church or angels.”

@mom.behind.the.scenes

Replying to @🌼daayyysiiiiᏔ⃝ “These kids are not asking hard-working people for money. They’re asking miracle workers, imaginary beings that can produce anything. We are asking the children in need not be able to believe in Santa.” #angeltree #christmas #mutualaid #donate #community

Ultimately, Annie’s post was about protecting the innocence and dreams of children, which can be a real challenge for those who are low-income or in the foster care system. “Children that just ask for the bare minimum are children who no longer have the ability to dream,” she said. “These kids are not asking hard-working people for money. They're asking miracle workers, imaginary beings that can produce anything because that's what we teach them. We're asking the children in need to not believe in Santa. There's really no beauty in a child not asking for something.”

She ended the video by stating that children in need should still be able to dream, just as she did.

“I'm sobbing thinking back to my children being young and in need, back to that children's home I lived in and I wonder did those people that donated to me did they complain that these children in this children's home wanted BMX bikes and Cabbage Patch dolls and ventriloquist dummies?” Annie asked. “Did they call our parents names? Did they call us greedy and selfish? I really hope that wasn't the case and I don't think it was. But children should never have to pay for the mistakes of their parents.”

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Joy

Students created these giant dog beds for humans and they're a cozy dream come true

It looks so comfy.

via Plufl/Instagram

A woman sleeps soundly in her Plufl.

Have you ever looked at your dog napping soundly in the middle of the day and secretly wished you could have a dog bed, too? Newer styles of dog beds look like soft and cozy nests that you can sink into like a cloud. Well, dreams do come true. Two college kids from Vancouver, Canada, Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita, have created the world’s first human-sized dog bed and they call it the Plufl.

“The Plufl is a premium napping bed engineered to provide the optimal napping experience,” it says on the Plufl’s Indie GoGo site. “It is created to maximize comfort and foster a sense of security, delivering relief for those who have ADHD, stress, and anxiety-related issues. A nap in the Plufl will boost your mood and have you feeling refreshed.”

That’s a pretty impressive claim. They could have just written, “You’ll sleep like a dog" and sold millions.

It may seem like a pie-in-the-sky idea, but there’s a lot of serious demand for the beds. The founders raised more than $290,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to get the company going and the beds are so popular that you have to get on a waiting list to buy one.

The beds cost $399 for one or $699 for two. If you buy yours now you’ll get it in January 2023, just after the holidays. The company currently only ships to the U.S. and Canada.

The beds are a clever idea but Jimmy Fallon had some fun with them on “The Tonight Show.”

"And finally, a company called Plufl has created the first human-sized dog bed and it costs $400," Fallon said. "Honestly, I can't tell what's more annoying, the bed, the price or that I just had to say the word 'Plufl.'"

@weareplufl

Follow for part 2! #jimmyfallon #fyp #storytime

@weareplufl

Part 2! #jimmyfallon #fyp #storytime

The beds are also popular on TikTok where the brand has more than 80,000 followers.

@weareplufl

#nap #sleep #napfluencer #sleepfluencer #plufl #smallbusiness #smallbusinesscheck #smallbusinessowner #homeade #heath #wellness #smallbiz #smallbiztiktok

The beds are made out of 4-inch-thick orthopedic memory foam that's covered with faux fur. The CertiPUR-US certified foam is made with materials that are safe for humans, dogs and the environment.

The first Plufl offerings are one-size-fits-all and can fit two nappers up to 6-foot, 5 inches tall. The founders hope to make multiple sizes that fit everyone comfortably in future iterations. The beds fold up for easy storage.

@weareplufl

Reply to @itsjalynnhoe it’s easy to store and put away the Plufl!

Silverman and Kinoshita told The New York Post that they were inspired to create the beds by their friend Lady, a Great Dane who hangs out at their local coffee shop. The dog is so large that its owners had to purchase a custom-made bed for the 200-pound dog.

That gave the founders an idea. If you can make a custom dog bed for a Great Dane, why not a human?

Over the past few years, there has been a big push for people to take more naps to improve their mental and emotional well-being throughout the day. I bet that if everyone had a massive, human-sized dog bed in the office, the percentage of people who nap every day would triple.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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