McCarthyism, Homophobia, and Homosexuality: 1940s-1950s

Anti-communism and anti-homosexuality: late-1940s--early-1950s

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Introduction

In David Ehrenstein's book, Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998 (pp. 114-115), he states that "so many" of the McCarthy era's "key figures (Roy Cohn, Whittaker Chambers, J. Edgar Hoover, and McCarthy himself) were closeted homosexuals whose anti-Communist zeal was spurred by fear of being found out."

What evidence do we have about the sexual lives and identities of figures involved in McCarthy Era red-baiting and queer-baiting? This entry attempts to explore that subject.

People Involved

Chambers, Whittaker

Cohn, Roy

Holiday, Judy

Hoover, J. Edgar

McCarthy, Joseph

Robbins, Jerome

Tolson, Clyde

Bibliography

Davis, Lisa E. "Undercover Girl -- The FBI's Lesbian: A Note on Resources." CLAGS News. Summer 2003/Vol. XIII, No. 2, page 8.

Ehrenstein, David. Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998. New York, William Morrow & Co, Inc., 1998. Update: Open Secret: Gay Hollywood--1928-2000 (Paperback) <pub data?>

Johnson, David K. The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hardback: ISBN: 9780226404813 Published January 2004. Paper: ISBN: 9780226401904 Published May 2006.

Mallon, Thomas. Fellow Travelers. [Novel about gay love affair between two men set in the 1950s.]

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