The Rise of the Gay Mafia, a Powerful Cabal That Never Existed - Atlas Obscura

Contents:

• THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED
• THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED
• THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED
• THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED
• GAY
• GAY MAFIA

THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED

Gay, GA 30218.

The paranoia over an “ternatnal homosexual nspiracy” rivaled the McCarthy munist wch hunts of the 1950s.

THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED

The ia of a “gay mafia” may seem like a bad oxymoron. But there was a time Amerin history when there was a real fear that a gay mafia—known llectively as “homterns”—existed, wieldg ntrol across Hollywood and throughout the arts and entertament dtri.

In his new book Homtern: How Gay Culture Liberated the Morn World, English amic Gregory Woods chronicl the rise of the “homtern, ” explorg how the longstandg fear of homosexual men spurred a century-long paranoia about an alleged gay mafia ntrollg areas of ernment, the arts and amia. The ver of Gregory Woods’ Homtern: How Gay Culture Liberated the Morn World.

THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED

In the mid-19th century the pair rrpond about the threat of “perasts”—an antiquated term referrg to men who had sex wh younger men, sce “homosexual” did not yet exist as a label—to their goal of tablishg non-sexual raship between other men. Woods wr that was this obssn to tegorize so-lled “unsaid” male sexual impuls and behavrs that actually enuraged the fear of the homosexual figure larger society.

THE RISE OF THE GAY MAFIA, A POWERFUL CABAL THAT NEVER EXISTED

There is some irony to this history, as the term homosexual was first ed 1868 before the word “heterosexual” even existed. Homosexual was set opposn to the ia of a “normalsexual, ” a word which was later disrd for “heterosexual. ” This sire to study and fe sexual behavr further phed rearchers to “un-closet” the homosexual, all an effort to mystify a sexual inty that had long been ostracized and stigmatized but never really pned down through scientific quiry.

Woods says was most likely vented as a word play, referrg to a disanized and rmal work of gay men who aternized the 1930s, cludg the lik of poet W. Des later, “homtern” entered Cold War disurse, beg reappropriated by nspiracy theorists that exploed s munist associatn and claimed referred to a longstandg “ternatnal homosexual nspiracy” across the untry, whose one goal was to perate posns the Amerin ernment and urp tradnal Amerin valu of fay and heterosexualy. Wh Amerins fearful of the tonatn of an atomic bomb and a enzy about polics beg overtaken by munist fectors, the elive figure of the homosexual—known but never seen public; closeted but apparently everywhere—was ripe to explo to spire fear.

Woods says that the anxieti around homosexuals Cold War Ameri take some of their orig the social “cleansg” mpaigns enacted Nazi Germany and Soviet Rsia, mpaigns lnched to eradite homosexual men (and other “unwanted” dividuals) om society. What proved most unnervg to many was that homosexual men were simultaneoly “visible”—apparently surreptly takg over branch of U. This paranoia pletely took over polil life, lead to a report beg missned 1950 lled “Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts Government.

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” The report claimed the “filtratn” of homosexuals to Amerin polil life meant that homosexuals would “envabl[y] … attempt to place other homosexuals Government jobs. The backlash agast homosexuals was only pound by the growg visibily of gay men public life, pecially the arts and entertament dtri, which only pound the ia of an unrground nspiracy of a “gay mafia. ” Some of the most proment playwrights of the 1950s were gay men, cludg Tennsee Williams, Arthur Lrents, and Edward Albee.

Many crics were wary of the reprentatns of Amerin life offered by the “homosexual men. ” In 1966, one New York Tim cric mentned the wispread perceptn that bee the men were homosexuals their plays “prent[ed] a badly distorted picture of Amerin women, marriage and society. Siar claims were ma about the number of “gay” men (closeted but monly known to be gay) Hollywood, cludg Gee Cor, Montgomery Clift, Cary Grant, and Rock Hudson.

Although the men were not “out, ” mors of their sexualy circulated wily Hollywood and galvanized an image of Hollywood beg overn by gay men, many who allegedly wield power and tonomy.

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This kd of paranoia only extend to gay men. Unlike lbians, gay men were seen as the more subversive threat bee they had most public profil as well as more likely to occupy posns of power the entertament dtri.

But some two s later, wh the groundswell mpaigns for eedoms and visibily that eventually beme the gay liberatn movement, the homtern lost all currency Amerin life. Thanks to the unparalleled regnn gay men enjoyed the gay liberatn movement of the 1970s, the homtern fad to myth. Today the homtern seems to be emblematic of another epoch om the 20th century’s closeted gay history.

All the same, the homtern’s awakeng of fear public life 1950s Ameri monstrat an important narrative, remdg there was a time when the ia of a “gay mafia” lg Hollywood was a legimate ncern.