Lavender scare

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The Lavender Scare refers to the fear and persecution of homosexuals in the fifties that paralleled the anti-communist Red Scare. Because the psychiatric community regarded homosexuality as a mental illness, gay men and lesbians were considered susceptible to blackmail, thus constituting a “security risk.” In 1950, the same year that Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed 205 communists were hiding in the State Department, the government fired 190 homosexual employees for security reasons.

Ironically (but not publicly known until decades later), McCarthy hired as chief counsel of his Congressional subcommittee a closeted homosexual, Roy Cohn. Together, McCarthy and Cohn were responsible for the firing of scores of gay men from government employment, some of whom lost their homes and their families; some even committed suicide.

Further information: Roy_Cohn#Private_life_and_death

Several causes for the Lavender Scare have been suggested, including the growing visibility of homosexuality, shifts in conspiracy thinking, a perceived crisis in American masculinity, and political efforts to root out New Deal conservatives.

The term for this persecution was coined by David K. Johnson based on the association of the color lavender with homosexuality.^[1]

See also: Florida Legislative Investigation Committee

[edit] References

1. ^ Johnson, David K. (2004). The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226401901.