Lavender scare facts for kids
The Lavender Scare was a time in the United States when many people were worried about gay people working in the government. This led to many gay people losing their jobs in the mid-1900s. It happened at the same time as another big event called McCarthyism or the Second Red Scare, which was a hunt for people thought to be communists.
During the Lavender Scare, gay men and lesbians were seen as a danger to national security. People thought they might be easily tricked or influenced, which could harm the country. Because of this, many believed they should not work for the government.
Former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson once wrote that while the "Red Scare" is well-known, the "witch-hunt" against gay people "harmed far more people." This shows how serious the Lavender Scare was.
Contents
What Does "Lavender Scare" Mean?
The name "Lavender Scare" became popular because of a book written in 2004 by David K. Johnson. His book, called The Lavender Scare, studied this unfair campaign against gay people.
The title came from the phrase "lavender lads." Senator Everett Dirksen often used this term to mean gay men. For example, in 1952, he said that if his party won the election, they would remove "the lavender lads" from the State Department. The phrase was also used by Confidential magazine, which was known for talking about politicians and Hollywood stars.
President Eisenhower's Order
In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a special order called Executive Order 10450. This order set rules for who could work for the federal government. It stopped gay people from having federal jobs.
Because of this order, hundreds of gay people were forced to reveal they were gay and were fired from the State Department. About 5,000 gay people, including those working for private companies connected to the government and military members, also lost their jobs. These people not only lost their work but were also made to tell everyone they were gay, even if they did not want to.
By the mid-1950s, similar rules were made in state and local governments. These rules stopped gay men and lesbians from working in many jobs. Millions of workers had to sign papers saying they were "morally pure" to get or keep their jobs.
Over time, these rules began to change. In 1973, a judge said that being gay could not be the only reason to fire someone from a federal job. In 1975, the government said it would look at applications from gay people case by case. Executive Order 10450 stayed partly in effect until 1995. That year, President Bill Clinton removed parts of the order and put in place the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for the military. Later, in 2017, Barack Obama fully removed the order.
Why Were Gay People Linked to Communism?
During this time, both gay people and members of the Communist Party USA were seen as "subversive." This meant people thought they were trying to secretly harm American society. Some believed they shared ideas like not believing in God, rejecting normal middle-class ways of life, and not following rules.
People also thought they were sneaky and would put their own goals before others. Senator McCarthy even said that being gay and being a communist were both "threats to the 'American way of life'." Many believed gay people and communists were working together to hurt the government.
Senator Kenneth S. Wherry also tried to connect being gay with not being patriotic. He said, "You can't hardly separate homosexuals from subversives." He believed that gay men in government should be removed.
A term called "Homintern" was made up in the 1930s. It was a playful word based on "Comintern" (Communist International). It first described an imaginary group of gay men who controlled the art world. Later, it was used to mean a made-up international group of gay people trying to control the world. In 1952, an article even said this "conspiracy" was a real reason to fire gay people from the State Department.
How People Thought About Being Gay Then
Before the Lavender Scare, Washington D.C. had a fairly open gay community. But as the Cold War continued, negative views about gay people grew. At that time, most people had very negative ideas about being gay. Also, doctors often thought being gay was a mental disorder.
Because of these views, gay men and lesbians were thought to be easy targets for blackmail. Government officials worried that communists would threaten to expose gay employees unless they gave them secret information. This was seen as a security risk.
However, a secret report from the United States Navy in 1957, called the Crittenden Report, found that there was "no sound basis" to believe gay people were a security risk. It said that no intelligence agency had facts to support this idea. This report was kept secret until 1976.
In 1956, a researcher named Evelyn Hooker showed that being gay was not a mental illness. She studied groups of gay and straight men and found no differences in their mental health. Her work eventually led to the American Psychiatric Association removing homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
How the Scare Affected People
Historian David K. Johnson suggests that lesbians might have been less at risk than gay men. This was because lesbians often had fewer public places to gather, making them less likely to be caught. However, people like Madeleine Tress, who worked for the Department of Commerce, were still questioned. After a tough interview, she was forced to leave her job.
Gay men and lesbians were forced to create secret communities because the government was investigating anyone suspected of being gay. They would even help each other by giving secret good references for security checks. Sadly, an unknown number of gay men and lesbians, who lost their jobs and faced shame, took their own lives. This shows the terrible impact the Lavender Scare had on people's lives.
Standing Up to the Scare
One important person in the gay rights movement was Frank Kameny. He worked as an astronomer for the United States Army. But in 1957, he was fired because of the Lavender Scare. He could never find another job with the U.S. government.
This experience led Kameny to dedicate his life to the gay rights movement. In 1965, years before the famous Stonewall riots, Kameny protested at the White House for gay rights.
In San Francisco, a group of eight lesbians started a group called Daughters of Bilitis in 1955. At first, they just wanted a safe place to meet other lesbians. Later, they worked to change unfair laws against gay people.
What Happened After?
Even though the main part of McCarthyism ended in the mid-1950s, the Lavender Scare continued in some ways. For example, Executive Order 10450, which stopped gay people from joining the military, was not fully removed until 1995.
Another lasting effect was the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, also known as the FLIC. This committee was started in Florida in 1956 and lasted until 1964. Its goal was to continue the work of the Lavender Scare by investigating and firing public school teachers who were gay. The FLIC was responsible for firing over 200 teachers.
In January 2017, the State Department officially apologized for its actions during the Lavender Scare. Senator Ben Cardin pointed out that investigations into gay federal employees continued even into the 1990s.
Documentary Film
A documentary film called The Lavender Scare tells the story of these events. It was directed by Josh Howard and narrated by Glenn Close. The film is based on David K. Johnson's book. It was shown at many film festivals and on PBS in 2019.
See also
In Spanish: Terror lila para niños
