The Lavender Scare by Lillian Price https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha en-us 2023-06-05 21:12:42 UTC 2023-06-12 15:37:50 UTC hello@padlet.com lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2615213192 2023-06-05 21:17:03 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2615213192 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617855063 https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/summer/lavender.html

This source is a comprehensive overview of the Lavender Scare from the National Archive detailing government initiatives and public opinion. It includes information on the Wherry-Hill investigation and The Hoey Committee Investigation. It's a rather long source, so I could see only the first half (the overview and the Wherry-Hill investigation) being assigned, but the whole article is interesting and relevant. I wish it discussed more the first-hand impacts on the people affected, but I also see that this is different from the aim of this piece. It discusses thought processes and quotes from people who started and carried out the removal of homosexual people from the state department, including Mccarthy himself, and how they were executed. These quotes have parallels to social psychology.]]> 2023-06-08 04:38:47 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617855063 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617856403 This book is the only book published on this subject and is extremely thorough and accessible. It includes a chronological overview of the investigations over eight chapters, which I will detail below. It also contains illustrations, news articles, and photographs from the Lavender Scare era that I found incredibly moving. I will expand on the chapters below and bold the ones that make for the most exciting class material. The ones I bold mainly include primary sources (oral interview material) and public perception, which have the most potential for analysis through social psychology. Each chapter has subsections as well that could be used to divide the material.

ch.1 - Sparking the fear, Mccarthy and Peuirifoy, Communists = Gays = Security Risks

Ch. 2 -  The "Pervert Elimination Campaign," Multiple primary sources, LaFayette Park as a center for Gay subculture in D.C.

Ch. 3 - How Queer people in government were interrogated ad found out, why Washington was considered a "haven for sexual deviants." (most interesting)

Ch. 4 - The media frenzy and inflated statistics used to fearmonger details of further investigation, people viewed federal bureaucracy as "emasculate" and gay. (most interesting)

Ch. 5 - Hoey investigation and other side investigations.

Ch. 6 - Primary source, Blevins, discussing why she suspected people of being gay (i.e., characteristics and "vibes,") "Let's clean house" initiative, Blackmail (most interesting)

Ch. 7 - Employees reporting their coworkers, details of a humiliating interrogation, everyone was suspicious of everyone else (most interesting)

Ch. 8 - D.C Mattachine society, protests, and pickets]]> 2023-06-08 04:40:09 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617856403 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617857350 This is a short excerpt from the first time McCarthy brought up Queer people as threats to the government and the danger they pose to the country. In addition to the NYT piece, I could see this as a helpful piece that shows where the public's thoughts were influenced, the pool of opinion among the public about Queer people, and examining where this thinking came from through a social psychology lens.]]> 2023-06-08 04:41:03 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617857350 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617858158 This is a concise article from the onset of the Lavender Scare in the New York Times. It shows the journalism and, most likely, the general public perception at the time about Queer people in government and their conflation with communists. I could see this working in tandem with more general sources to show how people were thinking and connect it with social psychology ideas to consider why people fostered this prejudice.]]> 2023-06-08 04:41:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617858158 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617858745 This is a relatively short and moving story from a primary source [specific person's experience] about the social and mental turmoil that followed her discharge for being discovered as a lesbian. It doesn't go into depth about the Lavender Scare, but her direct quotes have the potential to be examined through a social psychology lens.]]> 2023-06-08 04:42:33 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617858745 Prejudice lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617860477 Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group formed before any experience with that person or group. In the Lavender Scare, government employees and the general public were fearful and hateful toward gay government employees without any negative experiences or evidence. This is prejudice. There are behavioral, affective, and cognitive elements to prejudice generally and in the Lavender Scare. The behavioral component is those who reported their coworkers, took action, or formed and joined committees looking to eradicate Queer government employees. The affective component includes fear and hatred, unwarranted, towards gay people in government, and the cognitive aspect includes making assumptions about the motives and weaknesses of gay government employees without prior knowledge. You can see prejudice show up in the short New York Times article, as well as Mccarthy’s speech.


]]> 2023-06-08 04:44:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617860477 Outgroup Homogeneity Effect lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617860906 The outgroup homogeneity effect is a bias wherein people of the “in-group” assume all people of an “out-group” are highly similar and share traits, motives, and characteristics. In this case, non-queer government employees, as well as the public who were exposed to false reports on the Lavender Scare and already harbored homophobic sentiments, assumed that all gay people were “deviants,” “perverts,” and communists. They thought all gay people held sinister motives and were “weak-willed” and easier to blackmail by the communists. They assumed everyone shared this trait in the out-group, so the persecution of gay people began to eliminate their “deviancy” from potentially sensitive information. This is clear in Chapters 1 and 6 of the Lavender Scare book.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:44:44 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617860906 Internal Attribution lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617866400 Internal attribution is the ascription of actions to internal or psychological causes, like traits and characteristics, rather than external situations. Non-queer government employees, McCarthy, and the general public chose a marginalized characteristic of an out-group and blamed an event (communist dictatorship and infiltration in America) on this characteristic rather than external cultural aspects. They blamed the spread of communism, especially the communist breaches in the U.S. government, on the “perversion and weak will” of gay people. This is clear throughout the whole case.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:50:04 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617866400 In/Out Groups and In-Group Bias lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617867715 An in-group is a group to whom you, as a person, belong and anyone else who is perceived as belonging to that group. In-group members have favorable views of each other and give each member preferential treatment. An out-group consists of anyone who does not belong to your group. The “in-group” in the case of the Lavender Scare is the non-queer government employees and the public. The targeted “out-group” is gay federal employees. Additionally, the time period in which the Lavender Scare existed was a pivotal time for the formation of community and meeting spaces for the queer community, especially in Washington, D.C., where the forced resignment of gay government employees occurred. In-group bias is a bias that favors members of the in-group and dissaproves of members of the out-group. In the case of the Lavender Scare, our in-group put their own fear and self-preservation against communism over the out-group and demonized the out-group due to their fear. This is clear throughout the whole case.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:51:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617867715 Attitudes, Attitude Formation, and Schemas lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617867947 An attitude is defined as an evaluation of a concept ranging from negative to positive and are often derived from specific beliefs, emotions, and past behaviors associated with that concept. Similarly, a schema is a collection of basic knowledge about an idea that serves as a guide to perception or interpretation. Government officials had negative attitudes towards and schemas about gay people formed from media and lack of awareness. The attitudes they had towards the queer community was that they were “of the devil” and evil, without any context but solely because they were part of an out-group. One can see attitude formation in the media coverage from the time, as well as in the more general sources detailing how this thinking came to be and the homophobia of the time.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:51:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617867947 Normative Social Influence lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617868183 Normative social influence is the processes that cause individuals to feel, think, and act in ways that are consistent with social conventions. Non-gay government employees expressed fear and turned in their gay coworkers because that’s what they were told to do and saw others doing, and queer employees tried their hardest to fit in for their self-preservation so they weren’t suspected of “consortium with Communism.” This is also clear throughout the whole case, but specifically in Chapters 2 and 6 of the Lavender Scare Book.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:51:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617868183 Conformity lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617868544 Conformity is the adjustment of someone’s opinion or actions so that they become more consistent with the opinions or actions of other people around them. Similar to normative social influence, queer people, but especially persecuted queer government employees, had to conform to the cisgender and heterosexual norms of the time for their own security. The non-queer public conformed to these norms as well by perpetuating homophobia and ignorance and fostering fear in their community by turning in people they suspected of being gay. 

]]> 2023-06-08 04:52:02 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617868544 What are the facts? List information you are sure about. lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617869971
I think this one makes sense for this scenario because there are a lot of details, events, context, and people involved in this case study. Having the basic information provides a helpful ground for applying terms and thinking deeper.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:53:20 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617869971 What happened/is happening? List definite actions that occurred/are occurring. lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617870692 I don’t think that this is necessary. When I was answering these questions, I had similar information to the first two questions, and I think adding this as a sub-question or follow-up to the first one could be more helpful or organizing thoughts.]]> 2023-06-08 04:54:04 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617870692 Who was/is involved? List people by role and what their involvement was/is. lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871058 Similar to the previous one, I think this could be added on to the first one as an add-on because it’s still about detailing the case, and I had a hard time sorting the information between these three.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:54:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871058 What are some underlying assumptions or objectives? lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871333 When I was answering this question, I had a hard time figuring out what to say, but for my case, I think it is extremely applicable, and I want to keep it in. The Lavender Scare includes many assumptions and associations made by different groups, as well as clear objectives. I could see this being useful for the later application of psychology terms and understanding the case with even more depth.

]]> 2023-06-08 04:54:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871333 What questions do you have? lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871579 I think this pretty clearly makes sense to keep in because it’s a way for people to discover their knowledge gaps and things they’re still wondering about.]]> 2023-06-08 04:54:58 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617871579 Proposed changes to these questions: lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617872752 What are the facts? List information you are sure about. This can include events, people involved, and any other details you feel are important.
What are some underlying assumptions or objectives?
What questions do you have?

]]> 2023-06-08 04:55:55 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617872752 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873346 What contributed to the rapid spread of persecution? Why were people so quick to listen to McCarthy, and how did fear-mongering in the media affect people’s responses?]]> 2023-06-08 04:56:27 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873346 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873569 How did queer people respond? How were they able to hold on to a sense of self through the Lavender Scare?

]]> 2023-06-08 04:56:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873569 Can you think of any modern-day examples like the Lavender Scare that uses similar tactics? What can the Lavender Scare teach us about these decisions and tactics? lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873769 2023-06-08 04:56:53 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617873769 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617874114 What were the biggest contributors to the formation of negative psychological attitudes toward gay people? 

]]> 2023-06-08 04:57:09 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617874114 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617874339 What similarities can we see between this case and the Nazi Germany and Adolf Eichmann case? What terms can we draw from both of these cases? How do they differ?]]> 2023-06-08 04:57:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617874339 What would it have taken to break free of these attitudes and influences, and why didn’t we see that happening? lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875096 2023-06-08 04:57:59 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875096 What can we learn from this case as citizens of our community and students of psychology? lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875344 2023-06-08 04:58:11 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875344 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875523 How does the idea of two groups of people being negatively conflated because they were both out-groups come in? Where do these attitudes stem from?]]> 2023-06-08 04:58:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2617875523 lillyprice https://padlet.com/lillyprice/p43dgf1zs2wpbqha/wish/2619545422 The Lavender Scare, beginning in the late 1940s and continuing through the 1960s, was the persecution of gay government employees, which included the forced resignment and firing of more than a thousand workers.
At the same time, fear of communism due to the cold war had people afraid of The Soviet Union, so the media and the public looked for people within their own community to place blame and hatred on. 
In early 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy, who often conflated Communists and gay people, delivered a speech describing cases of communism in government more broadly as "unsafe risks." Two cases involved homosexuality. The media frenzy had begun, and employees in government began reporting their coworkers they believed were gay. Gay people were thought to be “morally weak and perverted,” as well as easier for communists to blackmail because they had secrets that could be exposed. The effects of these firings and the rampant discrimination are still felt today, as many gay veterans and employees who were dishonorably discharged cannot benefit from U.S. Army and government post-employment benefits. It is a horrible and generally unexplored chapter in U.S history 

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