NAMBLA

Current logo - small "b" symbolising the stature of a minor boy

The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) (often de-capitalised as NAMbLA) is an organization working for men that love boys and vice versa. It provides services such as a prisoners' program (which organizes visits, correspondence, and news for the benefit of boylovers in prison) and published The Nambla Bulletin.

History

1982: Marching in an Anti-Nuclear demonstration

NAMBLA had its beginnings in the 1970s during the height of the Sexual Revolution. It was at first central in the nascent gay political-activism community. The first Gay Pride parades in New York City featured boylove-themed entries. After the Anita Bryant episodes of the 1970s NAMBLA became gradually less accepted by the leadership of the larger gay movement. By 1994, the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the Nambla entry in the NYC Gay Pride parade was met with catcalls and derision by some observers, though not by all: some of the men and teenage boys who marched that year were greeted with hugs and appreciation by a few of the onlookers. Note that this was the time that the same-gender oriented community became split. Many organizations such as NAMBLA and PROJECT TRUTH were no longer able to use the word "GAY". NAMbLA was banned from the Pride Days and the community centres as well as the Gay Anarchists and other sympathetic and likewise scorned groups; once so an important part of the early GAY movement. When Gay meant same-gender oriented. This split was a result of the International Lesbian and Gay Association's attempt to gain greater acceptance within the United Nations and also the threats of the United States to withhold U.N. dues in retaliation towards perceived Anti-American groups. NAMBLA was counted amongst these groups.

During the first couple of years after the founding of Free Spirits, NAMBLA leadership provided some mentoring and advice to FSC members and referred the FSC to its first regular legal counsellor.

Bill Andriette and Roy Radow are two of the more well-known leaders of NAMBLA during the first few years of the 21st century. Andriette writes a popular column in the gay tourist magazine, "The Guide", frequently addressing topics of interest to teen-boy lovers.

Teenager bias

16-year old Jesse speaks for NAMbLA

NAMBLA is popularly considered a pedophilia organization. But the leadership and membership of the organization tend to be more interested in love between men and teenage boys, ephebophilia, than love of younger boys, pedophilia.

FBI infiltration/Glow Ops

The FBI has at times attempted to infiltrate NAMBLA, generally resulting in damage to the organization, but only minimal rewards for the feds. For example, in 1982, a NAMBLA member was falsely linked to the disappearance of Etan Patz. Although the accusation was groundless, the negative publicity was disastrous to the organization. NAMBLA published a book A Witchhunt Foiled: The FBI vs. NAMBLA, which documented these events.

Demise

After an extensive and highly damaging lawsuit (Curley v. NAMbLA) that ended in success for NAMbLA's defence, all that remains of the organisation is a website, two postboxes, an archive and loosely associated group of members.

NAMbLA was last seen making and informal appearence at a small sex offender activism protest outside Coalinga State Hospital. In 2009, NAMbLA was briefly and spuriously linked with death threats against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo[1]. Opinions on whether the NAMbLA concept is worth progressing differ somewhat among boylovers.

Associates and members: past and present

• David Thorstad
• Harry Hay
• Kevin Brown
• Renato Corazza
• Bill Andriette
• Leland Stevenson
• Peter Melzer
• Allen Ginsberg
• Kevin Bishop
• Octaevius Altair
• Hakim Bey
• Roy Radow

In the popular media

NAMBLA is identified as a lobby group in Jon Stewart's America: The Book A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (2004), and is also alluded to on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, often tagged on to an existing lobby group's acronym for the parody (e.g., "American Family Association, or FAMbLA [for short]"). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart acknowledged this in a clip retrospective on the July 27, 2006 episode, then turned the joke on its head by saying "However, for the record, the Daily Show has absolutely no affiliation with the North American Man/Boy Love Association or, as it's called, UNICEF", and again on October 2, 2006, in response to the Mark Foley scandal, "The Foley saga quickly set leaders of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, or, Congress, into action."

Other examples include:

*NAMBLA is referenced in an episode of Mr. Show. In the episode (Season 2, episode 3) In the sketch, NAMBLA is up for an advertising award for "Most Improved Image." The commercial played before the winner is announced features various men with black bars over their eyes enjoying a picnic, ending with the slogan "Nambla: We're not killers."

• Detectives on Law And Order: SVU often ask suspects if they are NAMBLA members when they claim they had a consensual relationship with a minor.
• Skacore band Leftöver Crack feature a song called "Muppet N.A.M.B.L.A" on their 2004 in music|2004 "Rock The 40oz" EP. Grindcore band Anal Cunt included a song called "I Gave NAMBLA Pictures of Your Kid" on their 1999 album It Just Gets Worse. The Norwegian band Turbonegro also has a song named "The Midnight NAMBLA" on their 1995 album Ass Cobra.
• NAMBLA was briefly mentioned in the Brasseye "Paedophile special" episode.
• In the movie Kids, Casper shouts "NAMBLA" at two gay men he and his friends verbally assault while they walk by.
• NAMBLA was featured in episode 406 of South Park where Cartman is ostracized from his friends, and decides to try to make new, older, "mature" friends on the internet. He unwittingly attends a NAMBLA meeting later and becomes their poster child, where they take photos of him in nothing but a Speedo. A few NAMBLA members meet Stan and Kyle and they are invited to a banquet along with Cartman. It is here that they learn the true nature of NAMBLA, but the NAMBLA members are soon arrested by the police. It also introduces a second NAMBLA, the "North American Marlon Brando Look Alikes," who are in constant battle with NAMBLA for the domain name nambla.com.
• NAMBLA was also briefly mentioned in a 2006 episode of the MTV show Celebrity Deathmatch. Nick Diamond comments, "We've got more fan mail than Lil Bow Wow at a NAMBLA convention!", to which Johnny Gomez replies "And that's a lot of mail, Nick".
• NAMBLA was referenced in Another Gay Movie. One of the characters was sitting in a gay bar when two people with NAMBLA T-shirts turn around and ask the character his age. When he replied with 17 they responded "Sorry, kid. Waaay past your prime."
• On the May 12, 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live, a NAMBLA member was portrayed by comedian Will Forte in a sketch about fringe Presidential candidates. He ended the sketch with this quote: "I believe children are the future of this country. So tonight I leave them with this message: At my house, I have Xbox."

External links

• The NAMbLA Homepage
• Declassified FBI Documents - A large file of documents concerning NAMBLA.
• A Witchhunt Foiled: The FBI vs. NAMBLA - Full Book scan download on Libgen.
• Extensive and condemnatory Wikipedia article
• Vice - Whatever Happened to NAMBLA?