1 gen 1851 anni - YMCA founded

Descrizione:

YMCA or YOung Men's Christian Association: Introduced in Boston in 1851, the YMCA promoted a new model of middle-class masculinity, muscular Christianity, which combined Protestant evangelism with athletic facilities where men could make themselves “clean and strong.”

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was one of the earliest and most successful promoters of athletic fitness. Introduced in Boston in 1851, the group promoted muscular Christianity, combining evangelism with gyms and athletic facilities where men could make themselves “clean and strong.” Focusing first on white-collar audiences, the YMCA developed a substantial program for industrial workers after 1900. Railroad managers and other corporate titans hoped YMCAs would foster a loyal and contented workforce, discouraging labor unrest. Business leaders also relied on sports to build physical and mental discipline and help men adjust their bodies to the demands of the industrial clock. Sports honed men’s competitive spirit, they believed; employer-sponsored teams instilled teamwork and company pride.

Working-class men had their own ideas about sports and leisure, and YMCAs quickly became a site of negotiation. Could workers come to the “Y” to play billiards or cards? Could they smoke? At first, YMCA leaders said no, but to attract working-class men they had to make concessions. As a result, the “Y” became a place where middle-class and working-class customs blended — or existed in uneasy tension. At the same time, YMCA leaders innovated. Searching for winter activities in the 1890s, YMCA instructors invented the new indoor games of basketball and volleyball.

For elite Americans, country clubs began to offer both men and women a place to enjoy tennis, golf, and swimming. By the turn of the century — perhaps because country club women were encroaching on their athletic turf — elite men took up even more aggressive physical sports, including boxing, weightlifting, and martial arts. In 1890, future president Theodore Roosevelt argued that such “virile” activities were essential to “maintain and defend this very civilization.” “Most masterful nations,” he claimed, “have shown a strong taste for manly sports.” Roosevelt, son of a wealthy New York family, became one of the first American devotees of jujitsu. During his presidency (1901–1909), he designated a judo room in the White House and hired an expert Japanese instructor. Roosevelt also wrestled and boxed, urging other American men — especially among the elite — to increase their leadership fitness by pursuing the “strenuous life.”

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