Political opportunism and the harassment of homosexuals in Florida, 1952-1965.
This paper examines activities by the state against homosexuals in Florida between 1952 and 1965. At the beginning of this period most of this activity took the form of police raids on gay bars, beaches and other gathering places. By the mid-1950s, however, the state government had established an investigations committee which concentrated on what the legislature saw as the "homosexual problem." The committee was particularly concerned with homosexual school teachers and faculty members in land grant universities in Florida, and attempted to purge state institutions of homosexual employees. This activity followed a similar campaign against homosexuals by the federal government and the article examines this in order to provide background for the Florida campaign. The ideology about homosexuals which was propagated by these campaigns is examined, as are the effects of the campaigns on homosexuals, and their response. Concern about the "homosexual menace" gradually abated and these discriminatory campaigns subsided. The article examines the social and political context of these campaigns and speculates on causes for the rise and demise of these campaigns. Principal among these appear to be political expediency by leaders of campaigns to extend political power by attacking a weak and defenseless target group, and a desire by conservatives to re-establish traditional values.
Sullivan
G
G
Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. g.sullivan@cchs.usyd.edu.au
D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011057:Politics; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017406:Sexual Harassment / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013219:State Government