Politics is Coming Out of the Closet
In light of the recent 2022 midterm elections, several LGBTQ+ winners represented victories for their respective parties, as well as the LGBTQ+ community.
The Red-Tinted Lavender Scare
In 1980, approaching his sixth year as a linguist at the National Security Agency (NSA), Jamie Shoemaker was called into the Agency’s security office. But for the first time, Mr. Shoemaker was brought in as a target – not as an employee. Despite the fact that Mr. Shoemaker had not committed any illegal actions, he was read his rights as if he was a common criminal. He soon found out why.
In Time magazine, Mr. Shoemaker recalled how his interrogators accused him of “leading a gay lifestyle,” to which he replied, “‘well, I didn’t think I was leading it, but yes, I’m gay.’” Following this exchange, Mr. Shoemaker was stripped of his security clearance and isolated from his co-workers. As his superiors came to a conclusion, Shoemaker was prohibited from working for four months, uncertain as to whether he would be allowed to return.
Mr. Shoemaker’s experience was one of many similar events influenced by an Eisenhowerian policy instigated in the 1950s (nearly thirty years before he was hired at the NSA). On April 27th, 1953, President Eisenhower passed Executive Order 10450. Among other expansions of security criteria, this order barred “sexually perverse” citizens from employment in the federal government and encouraged aggressive inquiry into suspected queer cases. Consequently, being gay and working as a government employee was now criminalized.
Although the act did not call out homosexuals directly, it did ostracize “sexually perverse” citizens, a derogatory term used to describe members of the LGBTQ+ community. According to historian and author David K. Johnson, the mandate was founded on the baseless belief that lesbians and gays “posed a threat to national security because they were vulnerable to blackmail and were considered to have weak moral characters.” This widespread American fear of homosexuals came to be christened the “Lavender Scare,” the victims of which helped further a new civil rights struggle in the late 20th century.
A History of Colorful Scares
The Lavender Scare was not a problem of its own making, instead, it was correlated with a national scare of a different shade: red.
When people think of the persecution of civil servants, the efforts of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC) likely come to mind. While they worked separately, the HUAC (a committee in the House of Representatives established to investigate accusations of communism) and Senator McCarthy shared a goal of exposing communists and other “security risks” in the 1950s federal government. In a hyper-paranoid atmosphere created by the Cold War, Americans were easily able to believe that their country was packed with traitors, thus allowing McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims to take hold.
McCarthyism – the term given to a practice that supports the use of unjust allegations – continued to grow as suspicion heightened with international Soviet movements, paralleling the politician’s growth in personal power. Beginning his second term as senator, McCarthy was appointed head of the Committee on Government Operations, allowing him to launch hearing after hearing with supposed “witnesses” of such abnormalities in the government. Thousands of innocent officials lost their jobs as a result of these investigations and faced violence or imprisonment after the publicized cases. McCarthy’s declarations were so aggressive that he managed to surround himself with an impenetrable aura for nearly five years. When he turned his attention towards attacking the armed services, he lost the majority of his support. Nonetheless, McCarthy’s campaign was significant enough that it was dubbed the “Red Scare” in reference to the “red flag” of communism.
The witch hunt provoked by McCarthy was a direct catalyst for the Lavender Scare. The Sex Perversion Elimination Program of 1947 (in which policemen targeted gay men) further contributed to suspicious scrutiny of LGBTQ+ people. In a rousing speech given by McCarthy (in reference to homosexuals) he stated, “[s]ome of them have that unusual affliction because of no fault of their own – most, of course, because they are morally weak.” In fact, this concept of frailty was not actually based on the mental status of the person, but rather on the reality that the majority of gay workers had secrets to hide. Many LGBTQ+ citizens in this era were still “in the closet” and could therefore be easily blackmailed, rendering them potential threats to confidential information. Joined with the stigma surrounding homosexuals at the time, these ideas of weakness were used to justify the execution of Executive Order 10450 (which decreed the elimination of homosexuals from government offices).
And so it began; people, neighbors even, were throwing out names left and right, fueled by paranoia stoked by years of fear. Accused workers were questioned intrusively (often without due process of law) and forced to provide information on other suspects. Navy serviceman Bob Cantillion was told to report to the police station after a tip-off at a Christmas party. He recalled in a documentary, “‘I freely admitted that I was gay. And then they said, 'We also want five names of other people you know.' So, I searched my mind and I gave them the names of five people I thought would be least hurt.” Although many employees were forcibly fired, a significant portion resigned because of blackmail (quite ironic, seeing as the potential for blackmail was a big part of the issue they were fired for). Several police interrogators threatened to expose confessors to their families, leading to the resignation of hundreds, if not thousands of gay people.
Other lives had been completely destroyed to the point of no repair. Numerous young men faced with blackmail committed suicide after incriminating interviews. One such case was that of Andrew Ference (a State Department worker at the U.S. Embassy in Paris), who killed himself after confessing to an affair with his male roommate and was discharged from his post. And yet, despite the countless false claims and unnecessary job and life losses, no one was even attempting to fight for the basic human rights of gay citizens. That is, until a certain pugnacious astronomer decided that enough was enough.
“The Rosa Parks of the Gay Rights Movement”
In 1957, the U.S. Army Map Service fired astronomer and Harvard Ph.D. Frank Kameny for his sexuality. He was furious. Mr. Kameny became the first person to fight his decision as a matter of civil rights rather than an issue of security by appealing to the Supreme Court, arguing that anti-homosexual discrimination was of the same caliber as racial and religious discrimination. The Supreme Court refused to review his claims.
Although it appeared that Mr. Kameny had failed in his endeavors, he had succeeded in more ways than one. His revolutionary fight helped the gay rights movement gain traction, which he continued to promote through public activism, coining the battle cry of “Gay is Good!” Mr. Kameny established a Washington chapter of the Mattachine Society – a gay and lesbian advocacy group – through which he attempted to initiate contact with prominent politicians, including the President, Vice President, Supreme Court Justices, and every single member of the House and Senate. Although several responded with less-than-polite demands to cease defiling their mail, Kameny forged alliances with two congressmen (from Pennsylvania and New York, respectively). Both politicians became valuable assets and supporters of the Mattachine Society of Washington. Kameny’s rights group raised funds to help other federal employees battle their discharges in court and led picketings in the Capitol. Most Mattachine members continued to cloak themselves with pseudonyms when participating in such activities, but Mr. Kameny stuck to his legal name, becoming a more notable pioneer as (according to the Washington Post) “the Rosa Parks of the gay rights movement.”
The ‘Rainbow Wave’ of 2022
In 1980, when linguist Shoemaker learned that he would likely be losing his job, it was Kameny to whom he turned. Utilizing Kameny’s experience with such cases, Shoemaker was able to keep his job and security clearance at the NSA (the first gay individual to do so). It was only in 1995 – when President Bill Clinton signed his own executive order repealing Eisenhower’s policy – that sexual orientation became an illegal deciding factor in federal employment.
Despite Clinton’s order, several parts of federal administration continued to discriminate. In 2017, President Trump restricted transgender citizens from joining the military, throwing many lives into disorder. Brianna Green*, a former U.S. naval officer, talked about how the ban resulted in the discharge of many of her fellow service members, several of whom were close friends. “I truly do not understand the decision,” she told me, emotionally. “The gender or identity of a person does not in any way affect their ability to serve their country. These people were putting their lives on the line for their country, a country which apparently ranked their sexual orientation at a higher importance than their personal sacrifice.”
Regardless of the obvious discrepancies, most of the American government has begun moving towards significantly more tolerant conditions. President Biden’s selection of Pete Buttigieg as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 2021 propelled Mr. Buttigieg to become the first openly homosexual cabinet member. More recently, the 2022 midterm elections resulted in what LGBTQ activists have dubbed a (Democratic) “rainbow wave.” Democrat Maura Healy's election in Massachusetts came with a number of firsts for the state. Ms. Healy’s 63.6% win over Republican Geoff Diehl (34.7%) made her the first elected lesbian governor and the first female governor of Massachusetts. On the opposite coast in Oregon, another gubernatorial race was won for the lesbian community. Tina Kotek was part of a much closer contest, beating Republican Christine Drazan (43.6%) and the independent Betsy Johnson (8.7%) with 47% of the vote. Becca Blint was elected as Vermont’s first openly gay Congresswoman, and, in the Minnesota and Montana legislatures, Leigh Finke and Zooey Zephyr became the first transgender members for both states, respectively. Additionally, New Hampshirite James Roesener became the first transgender man in American history to be elected to any state legislature. These victories will ensure LGBTQ representation in public government for years to come.
Referencing the latest elections, political commentator and LGBTQ supporter Sally Kohn told NBC News, “I’m old enough to remember when having an openly gay politician was scandalous, and now it’s not, and that’s amazing.” Regardless of backlash, the United States does seem to be evolving into the multicultural, diverse, representative society that it strives to be. Still, Kohn went on, when something like this becomes more conventional, “it’s easy to forget how marginalized, invisibilized it once was.”
In 1980, approaching his sixth year as a linguist at the National Security Agency (NSA), Jamie Shoemaker was called into the Agency’s security office. But for the first time, Mr. Shoemaker was brought in as a target – not as an employee. Despite the fact that Mr. Shoemaker had not committed any illegal actions, he was read his rights as if he was a common criminal. He soon found out why.
In Time magazine, Mr. Shoemaker recalled how his interrogators accused him of “leading a gay lifestyle,” to which he replied, “‘well, I didn’t think I was leading it, but yes, I’m gay.’” Following this exchange, Mr. Shoemaker was stripped of his security clearance and isolated from his co-workers. As his superiors came to a conclusion, Shoemaker was prohibited from working for four months, uncertain as to whether he would be allowed to return.
Mr. Shoemaker’s experience was one of many similar events influenced by an Eisenhowerian policy instigated in the 1950s (nearly thirty years before he was hired at the NSA). On April 27th, 1953, President Eisenhower passed Executive Order 10450. Among other expansions of security criteria, this order barred “sexually perverse” citizens from employment in the federal government and encouraged aggressive inquiry into suspected queer cases. Consequently, being gay and working as a government employee was now criminalized.
Although the act did not call out homosexuals directly, it did ostracize “sexually perverse” citizens, a derogatory term used to describe members of the LGBTQ+ community. According to historian and author David K. Johnson, the mandate was founded on the baseless belief that lesbians and gays “posed a threat to national security because they were vulnerable to blackmail and were considered to have weak moral characters.” This widespread American fear of homosexuals came to be christened the “Lavender Scare,” the victims of which helped further a new civil rights struggle in the late 20th century.
A History of Colorful Scares
The Lavender Scare was not a problem of its own making, instead, it was correlated with a national scare of a different shade: red.
When people think of the persecution of civil servants, the efforts of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC) likely come to mind. While they worked separately, the HUAC (a committee in the House of Representatives established to investigate accusations of communism) and Senator McCarthy shared a goal of exposing communists and other “security risks” in the 1950s federal government. In a hyper-paranoid atmosphere created by the Cold War, Americans were easily able to believe that their country was packed with traitors, thus allowing McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims to take hold.
McCarthyism – the term given to a practice that supports the use of unjust allegations – continued to grow as suspicion heightened with international Soviet movements, paralleling the politician’s growth in personal power. Beginning his second term as senator, McCarthy was appointed head of the Committee on Government Operations, allowing him to launch hearing after hearing with supposed “witnesses” of such abnormalities in the government. Thousands of innocent officials lost their jobs as a result of these investigations and faced violence or imprisonment after the publicized cases. McCarthy’s declarations were so aggressive that he managed to surround himself with an impenetrable aura for nearly five years. When he turned his attention towards attacking the armed services, he lost the majority of his support. Nonetheless, McCarthy’s campaign was significant enough that it was dubbed the “Red Scare” in reference to the “red flag” of communism.
The witch hunt provoked by McCarthy was a direct catalyst for the Lavender Scare. The Sex Perversion Elimination Program of 1947 (in which policemen targeted gay men) further contributed to suspicious scrutiny of LGBTQ+ people. In a rousing speech given by McCarthy (in reference to homosexuals) he stated, “[s]ome of them have that unusual affliction because of no fault of their own – most, of course, because they are morally weak.” In fact, this concept of frailty was not actually based on the mental status of the person, but rather on the reality that the majority of gay workers had secrets to hide. Many LGBTQ+ citizens in this era were still “in the closet” and could therefore be easily blackmailed, rendering them potential threats to confidential information. Joined with the stigma surrounding homosexuals at the time, these ideas of weakness were used to justify the execution of Executive Order 10450 (which decreed the elimination of homosexuals from government offices).
And so it began; people, neighbors even, were throwing out names left and right, fueled by paranoia stoked by years of fear. Accused workers were questioned intrusively (often without due process of law) and forced to provide information on other suspects. Navy serviceman Bob Cantillion was told to report to the police station after a tip-off at a Christmas party. He recalled in a documentary, “‘I freely admitted that I was gay. And then they said, 'We also want five names of other people you know.' So, I searched my mind and I gave them the names of five people I thought would be least hurt.” Although many employees were forcibly fired, a significant portion resigned because of blackmail (quite ironic, seeing as the potential for blackmail was a big part of the issue they were fired for). Several police interrogators threatened to expose confessors to their families, leading to the resignation of hundreds, if not thousands of gay people.
Other lives had been completely destroyed to the point of no repair. Numerous young men faced with blackmail committed suicide after incriminating interviews. One such case was that of Andrew Ference (a State Department worker at the U.S. Embassy in Paris), who killed himself after confessing to an affair with his male roommate and was discharged from his post. And yet, despite the countless false claims and unnecessary job and life losses, no one was even attempting to fight for the basic human rights of gay citizens. That is, until a certain pugnacious astronomer decided that enough was enough.
“The Rosa Parks of the Gay Rights Movement”
In 1957, the U.S. Army Map Service fired astronomer and Harvard Ph.D. Frank Kameny for his sexuality. He was furious. Mr. Kameny became the first person to fight his decision as a matter of civil rights rather than an issue of security by appealing to the Supreme Court, arguing that anti-homosexual discrimination was of the same caliber as racial and religious discrimination. The Supreme Court refused to review his claims.
Although it appeared that Mr. Kameny had failed in his endeavors, he had succeeded in more ways than one. His revolutionary fight helped the gay rights movement gain traction, which he continued to promote through public activism, coining the battle cry of “Gay is Good!” Mr. Kameny established a Washington chapter of the Mattachine Society – a gay and lesbian advocacy group – through which he attempted to initiate contact with prominent politicians, including the President, Vice President, Supreme Court Justices, and every single member of the House and Senate. Although several responded with less-than-polite demands to cease defiling their mail, Kameny forged alliances with two congressmen (from Pennsylvania and New York, respectively). Both politicians became valuable assets and supporters of the Mattachine Society of Washington. Kameny’s rights group raised funds to help other federal employees battle their discharges in court and led picketings in the Capitol. Most Mattachine members continued to cloak themselves with pseudonyms when participating in such activities, but Mr. Kameny stuck to his legal name, becoming a more notable pioneer as (according to the Washington Post) “the Rosa Parks of the gay rights movement.”
The ‘Rainbow Wave’ of 2022
In 1980, when linguist Shoemaker learned that he would likely be losing his job, it was Kameny to whom he turned. Utilizing Kameny’s experience with such cases, Shoemaker was able to keep his job and security clearance at the NSA (the first gay individual to do so). It was only in 1995 – when President Bill Clinton signed his own executive order repealing Eisenhower’s policy – that sexual orientation became an illegal deciding factor in federal employment.
Despite Clinton’s order, several parts of federal administration continued to discriminate. In 2017, President Trump restricted transgender citizens from joining the military, throwing many lives into disorder. Brianna Green*, a former U.S. naval officer, talked about how the ban resulted in the discharge of many of her fellow service members, several of whom were close friends. “I truly do not understand the decision,” she told me, emotionally. “The gender or identity of a person does not in any way affect their ability to serve their country. These people were putting their lives on the line for their country, a country which apparently ranked their sexual orientation at a higher importance than their personal sacrifice.”
Regardless of the obvious discrepancies, most of the American government has begun moving towards significantly more tolerant conditions. President Biden’s selection of Pete Buttigieg as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 2021 propelled Mr. Buttigieg to become the first openly homosexual cabinet member. More recently, the 2022 midterm elections resulted in what LGBTQ activists have dubbed a (Democratic) “rainbow wave.” Democrat Maura Healy's election in Massachusetts came with a number of firsts for the state. Ms. Healy’s 63.6% win over Republican Geoff Diehl (34.7%) made her the first elected lesbian governor and the first female governor of Massachusetts. On the opposite coast in Oregon, another gubernatorial race was won for the lesbian community. Tina Kotek was part of a much closer contest, beating Republican Christine Drazan (43.6%) and the independent Betsy Johnson (8.7%) with 47% of the vote. Becca Blint was elected as Vermont’s first openly gay Congresswoman, and, in the Minnesota and Montana legislatures, Leigh Finke and Zooey Zephyr became the first transgender members for both states, respectively. Additionally, New Hampshirite James Roesener became the first transgender man in American history to be elected to any state legislature. These victories will ensure LGBTQ representation in public government for years to come.
Referencing the latest elections, political commentator and LGBTQ supporter Sally Kohn told NBC News, “I’m old enough to remember when having an openly gay politician was scandalous, and now it’s not, and that’s amazing.” Regardless of backlash, the United States does seem to be evolving into the multicultural, diverse, representative society that it strives to be. Still, Kohn went on, when something like this becomes more conventional, “it’s easy to forget how marginalized, invisibilized it once was.”
Works Cited
Block, Melissa. “The Midterms Are Being Called a 'Rainbow Wave' of LGBTQ Candidate Victories.” NPR.NPR, November 9, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1135619245/the-midterms-are-being-called-arainbow-wave-of-lgbtq-candidate-victories.
Crain, Caleb. “Frank Kameny's Orderly, Square Gay-Rights Activism.” The New Yorker, June 22, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/frank-kamenys-orderly-square-gay-rights-activism.
Haynes, Suyin, and Video by Arpita Aneja. “History You Didn't Learn about the Anti-Gay Lavender Scare.” Time. Time, December 22, 2020. https://time.com/5922679/lavender-scare-history/.
History.com Editors. “HUAC.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 29, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/huac.
Johnson, David K. The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Lavietes, Matt. “Lesbians Score Big Political Gains in Midterm Elections' 'Rainbow Wave'.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, November 14, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/lesbians-score-big-political-gains-midterm-elections-rainbow-wave-rcna56752.
Lim, Kay M, and Julie Kracov. “The Lavender Scare: How the Federal Government Purged Gay Employees.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, June 19, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-lavender-scare-how-the-federal-government-purged-gay-employees/.
Rosenwald, Michael S. “The Gay Rights Pioneer Who Demanded Justice from the Supreme Court in 1960.” The Washington Post. WP Company, October 28, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/06/09/the-gay-pride-pioneer-who-demanded-justice-from-the-supreme-court-in-1960/.
“Senator Joe McCarthy: Audio Excerpts, 1950-1954 - Marquette.edu.” Homosexuals in State Department, 1952. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/DC/JRM/JRM_1952_Wheeling_excpt.pdf.
Wills, Matthew. “The Lavender Scare - JSTOR DAILY.” The Lavender Scare. JSTOR Daily, November 18, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/the-lavender-scare/.
Block, Melissa. “The Midterms Are Being Called a 'Rainbow Wave' of LGBTQ Candidate Victories.” NPR.NPR, November 9, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1135619245/the-midterms-are-being-called-arainbow-wave-of-lgbtq-candidate-victories.
Crain, Caleb. “Frank Kameny's Orderly, Square Gay-Rights Activism.” The New Yorker, June 22, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/frank-kamenys-orderly-square-gay-rights-activism.
Haynes, Suyin, and Video by Arpita Aneja. “History You Didn't Learn about the Anti-Gay Lavender Scare.” Time. Time, December 22, 2020. https://time.com/5922679/lavender-scare-history/.
History.com Editors. “HUAC.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 29, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/huac.
Johnson, David K. The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Lavietes, Matt. “Lesbians Score Big Political Gains in Midterm Elections' 'Rainbow Wave'.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, November 14, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/lesbians-score-big-political-gains-midterm-elections-rainbow-wave-rcna56752.
Lim, Kay M, and Julie Kracov. “The Lavender Scare: How the Federal Government Purged Gay Employees.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, June 19, 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-lavender-scare-how-the-federal-government-purged-gay-employees/.
Rosenwald, Michael S. “The Gay Rights Pioneer Who Demanded Justice from the Supreme Court in 1960.” The Washington Post. WP Company, October 28, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/06/09/the-gay-pride-pioneer-who-demanded-justice-from-the-supreme-court-in-1960/.
“Senator Joe McCarthy: Audio Excerpts, 1950-1954 - Marquette.edu.” Homosexuals in State Department, 1952. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/DC/JRM/JRM_1952_Wheeling_excpt.pdf.
Wills, Matthew. “The Lavender Scare - JSTOR DAILY.” The Lavender Scare. JSTOR Daily, November 18, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/the-lavender-scare/.