There was a whole gay undercurrent going on. All the action in the film were basically filtered through a gay lens. Of course, lyricist Stephen Sondheim was gay, as was choreographer Jerome Robbins, as someone pointed out above.
There are other clues - check out the introduction to the song "America" - Rita Moreno says archly: "smoke on your pipe and put THAT IN!" As she says points a finger, then twists backwards so the finger points upwards - a taunt about gay sex, oral and anal - it's pure genius and the best moment of the film, to my mind.

I've always heard the stupid question is that which wasn't asked
Until I heard yours
Yours is a truly stupid question

You watched this and this is your take away?! Really
May I suggest that you. Ah never mind

What's funny is that I've always failed to notice the crotch shots, even though I've seen the film
West Side Story
many times!

I'm going to have to watch it this again and look for these shots!
But'Cha Are, Blanche! Ya'Are In That Chair!

Oh me too

Love dem male 'chastity belts' :))
Peanutlee33

Well some of the actors playing the Sharks and Jets were gay so it probably wasn't a big deal. Also they all had dancing belts under their clothes so they were "protected"

I am no homophobeseveral good old friends in the LGBT community.
But if I were one of those Jets and realized where the camera was pointed, I would have been creeped out. And I'm sure those actors were awarethey were doing their job for the scene. But I still would have been creeped out.
Peanutlee33
Nah - he got the upsideI got the downside. See, there's two sides to every schwartz

Well Jerome Robbins was gay and he did direct the dance numbers so you might have something there

Perhaps I did look far too much into it
Peanutlee33

Nope. Not me!