The Lavender Scare

The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
By David K. Johnson. University of Chicago Press 2004Pp. 277.

There have been many studies of the Cold War era including those that specifically focus on what is commonly known as McCarthyism. In this book, David Johnson provides us with a much needed analysis of a key element of that repression. He shows us how the U.S. government came to focus on gays as "security risks." During this time, homosexuals were often considered on a par with or more of a threat than suspected communists. In this book, we see how members of Congress and national security bureaucrats found it necessary to systematically purge gays and lesbians from all kinds of government positions.
Many historians of the Cold War have marginalized the persecution of gays as part and parcel of McCarthyism. Johnson points out that the “Lavender Scare” was instead a deeply ingrained part of fifties culture which actually pre-dated McCarthyism and long outlived it.This book clearly indicates that the purge of gays and lesbians was more than just McCarthyism. Even though McCarthy often made references in his speeches to “communists and queers”, he was not the principal architect of the homosexual purges. Speculation has centered on his own fear that as a middle age bachelor, the charges might come back and stick to him as well. As we see throughout, it was not just homosexuals that had to fear this persecution; anyone could be a target as most of the investigations were based on innuendo and stereotypes.
During the peak of the New Deal, there is no doubt that Washington DC had become a gay city. With the job opportunities available and the appeal of being away from their families of origin, it made sense that gays would choose to migrate to some of the larger cities and DC was no different. The process of urbanization was critical in creating a social and economic base for a gay and lesbian subculture. Washington DC was unique in that civil service jobs were appealing to those that lived outside of societal norms. Government jobs were the only ones where women had any chance of chance of breaking in. And the old-boy network was not as pervasive as in business. So there was truth that fact that gays and lesbians could be found throughout government service. As a result the gay community had begun to gain in visibility. This did not go unnoticed nor was it without repercussions, with frequent “pervert elimination campaigns”. These primarily targeted the gay cruising areas that were actually world renowned, like Lafayette Park.There were other incidents that helped seal the association of government service, particularly the State Department, with homosexuality. One such event was the scandal involving the head of the dept, Sumner Welles. The story was that he had sexually propositioned an African American porter on a train trip back to Alabama from DC. There was an attempt hush up the incident for Welles, who was a married man, though ultimately, he was forced to resign. And ultimately, the State Department began examining its policies and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to remove homosexuals. The reasoning was not that there was a threat of blackmail or national security issues but that their presence created a morale issue for non-gay members who did not want to work with them or be associated with such a reputation.As the effort to purge gays and lesbians grew and there were official congressional studies, the security risk factor was raised. The irony is that there was little or no evidence of any security violations and the sensationalist stories such as that of Sumner Welles were about married men who had homosexual affairs. However, it is clear that the more repression that is directed towards gays and lesbians, the more they have to fear and the more likely it is that blackmail might be effective.
And yet, there was never any evidence to indicate that it really happened. As Johnson observes, the Lavender Scare long outlived the Second Red Scare and during the Eisenhower administration it became institutionalized. In his memoirs, Eisenhower commented that he perceived gays as unintentional security risks. It is important to remember that this was before the concept of sexual orientation as an identity so the perception was that anyone could succumb to moral weakness and commit a homosexual act.At the end of the books, we see how this repression actually fostered the gay civil rights movement and led many to unite and fight discrimination. He shares a few personal stories that help portray the constant fear and stress that had become part of the gay government employee experience. He also points out how the experience of being fired simply for being gay drew some into the Washington gay sub-culture. Out of a job, with less to lose, these gay individuals began to identify themselves by their sexual identity. Johnson examines the national Mattachine Society and the local Mattachine Society of Washington. This group was led by Frank Kameny, an astronomer fired by the federal government for being gay. Though he never intended to be a political activist, his experience led him to a new approach of social activism. And while many consider Stonewall to be the official beginning of the gay civil rights movement, Johnson points out that there were many facets that led to change.This work is an important contribution to the history of the cold war. It also reminds us that the fight for gay and lesbian civil rights and the very concept of a gay identity has its origins in more than one historical event. It was the government’s repressive action that ultimately helped to unite gays and lesbians. And this repression helped to spur the modern gay civil rights movement.