British Masculinity and the YMCA, 1844–1914
Geoff Spurr
The Body, Gender and Culture
978 1 84893 330 9: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 84893 331 6
In 1844 the YMCA was founded in London by a group of drapers’ assistants. From its roots as an evangelical Christian brotherhood the organization evolved to provide physical and educational pastimes and opportunities to a large proportion of lower-middle-class men. Blending social, gender and religious histories, Spurr argues that the YMCA became key in defining masculinity for this large social group and that in turn they helped to dictate the development of the organization before the First World War.
Readership
British Social History and Gender Studies
Contents
Introduction
1 The World of the Evangelical Lower Middle-Class Man
2 Engaged Evangelicalism and the Adoption of Mental and Educational Agencies
3 Meeting the Educational and Material Needs of Young Men
4 Physical Recreations and the YMCA Mission
5 Spirit, Mind and Body in Operation