John Rechy (in an E-mail interview as stilted as they all are):
The opening lines of the Village People’s iconic disco hit “YMCA” are clearly inspired by an early chapter in City of Night, where the “youngman” protagonist is directed to the YMCA by, of all people, a cop. The song refers to that, and refers to “youngman” as a compound word. What I like is that that song is routinely sung now at heterosexual weddings. The Village People, unlike the others, have never acknowledged the origins of their inspiration.