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.

Bibliography

Ehrenstein, David. Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998

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