What is the Lavender Scare?
The Lavender Scare refers to a period in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States when the government conducted a widespread campaign to identify and remove homosexual individuals from federal employment. This intense anti- witch hunt was fueled by the fear that individuals were vulnerable to blackmail and thus posed a national security risk.
The Lavender Scare was a parallel phenomenon to the more well-known Red Scare, which targeted communist sympathizers and suspected spies during the Cold War era. The government considered homosexuality to be a moral failing, and believed that individuals were susceptible to Soviet influence or blackmail.
During this period, thousands of government workers were investigated, interrogated, and subjected to surveillance in an attempt to root out homosexuals. Many individuals lost their jobs, had their careers destroyed, and faced personal and professional ruin.
The Lavender Scare also extended to other sectors, such as the military and private companies that held government contracts. It created a culture of fear and secrecy, forcing many LGBTQ+ individuals to live in constant fear of exposure and persecution.
The impact of the Lavender Scare was far-reaching and devastating, contributing to the widespread social stigmatization of homosexuality for decades. It was not until the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and the subsequent LGBTQ+ rights movement that attitudes towards homosexuality began to shift in the United States.