I actually thought it was an advertisement for actual YMCAs. I feel so silly now.
You're not far off, the Construction Worker guy once said in an interview, "I was a bit skeptical about some of our hits, but the minute I heard 'Y.M.C.A.,' I knew we had something special. Because it sounded like a commercial. And everyone likes commercials."
...Oh, did you get what I mean about Construction Worker, that they were all supposed to be male archetypes? Just making sure before I go on, lol.
And speaking of YMCA, I just recently discovered what the song is actually about.
If it makes you feel any better, I pretty sure a lot of people weren't aware of the real meaning as kids.
As I understand it, the group introduced their French manager to a YMCA on 23rd Street, explaining that it was a place to go when you first arrive in New York and don't have much money, and was also a meeting place for the gay community.
(Nowadays, you can't be "short on your dough" and belong to a YMCA, lol.)
Then again, maybe school staff didn't know either? Because as gay-unfriendly as much of the world was back then, I think the song would have otherwise been banned from schools and such.
I think the idea was that it was an open secret; there to see if you were discerning enough. If you didn't see, well that was OK too, because they obviously wanted everyone to be able to relate to the song.
As I said before, when I was in middle school, one of the teachers banned us from playing "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations on our radio frequency, but would never tell us why . . . it wasn't until I was an adult that I happened to learn of the strong drug implications of the song.
That is a similar kind of subversive song. Makes sense that it's about drugs, but you can also say "Oh it's just about escaping to a happy place in your mind."