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Edgar Hoover’s campaign against sexual “perverts,” particularly homosexuals, who allegedly threatened the nation. This panic stemmed in part from the social disorder and perceived increase in crime resulting from the Great Depression.
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In the 1930s and 1940s, Americans witnessed a “sex crime panic.” This mass hysteria concerning various forms of sexual “perversion,” including homosexuality, was fueled by the media, which promulgated sensationalized narratives of the non-normative sexual behaviors purportedly compromising the moral fiber of the nation.
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This heightened scrutiny mirrors broader trends in the policing of homosexuality in the United States. Interest in the “problem” of homosexuality increased considerably in this period.
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Student conduct records between the 1920s and 1960s indicate that the university consistently harassed and punished students for engaging in “immoral” sexual practices. Furthermore, the university tracked students expelled for homosexuality, sending letters to prospective employers to prevent “perverted” students from getting jobs. In 1948, twelve men, including several UW students, were arrested and prosecuted for “sodomy” and “disorderly conduct.” Some were expelled and denied their degrees because of their conviction. The Gay Purge was not the first time UW officials expressed concern over the “problem” of homosexuality. In this essay, I refer to the victims of the purge with pseudonyms to preserve their privacy. While the Gay Purge represents a particularly virulent example of homophobia, it was by no means an isolated incident, but rather part of a continuum of moralistic and bigoted policy and action at the university. The Gay Purge and the broader history of institutionalized homophobia on campus constitutes a shameful blemish on the history of the university which has yet to be officially acknowledged. In its moralistic crusade, the University of Wisconsin destroyed students’ career prospects and caused them tremendous emotional and psychological anguish. What came to be known as the “Gay Purge,” these efforts to cleanse the university of “vice” had dire consequences on the lives of homosexual students. Those who escaped expulsion were reprimanded and coerced into seeking psychological “treatment” in order to remain students at the university. Undergraduate and graduate students suspected of engaging in same-sex relationships were brought before the university’s Committee on Student Conduct and Appeals (CSCA), interrogated, and in many cases expelled. In 1962, the University of Wisconsin began to systematically seek out and expel homosexual male students. In this post, you will encounter descriptions of LGBTQ+ persons that is harmful and offensive. Some of the content and language in this blog post is disturbing. Responses with vulgar or offensive language will not be posted.Ĭontent Warning: The UW–Madison Public History Project blog aims to provide a space where our community can begin the difficult work of reckoning with our history. Responses submitted by email will be posted in a response and discussion post within one week after the original publication date. We believe that the discussions that arise out of these differing perspectives are an integral part of the process of reckoning with our history. There will be alternative perspectives to those detailed below. Our student researchers have completed the research below with all of the historical documents available to them at the time of publication. Therefore, the research in this post is imperfect, as all history is. It is impossible for us to know everything that happened in the past. The nature of historical research is that it will always be incomplete. By sharing research before the opening of the exhibit, we hope to begin conversations about the history of UW–Madison and discuss how we can all work toward building a more equitable campus community. The project will culminate in an exhibit in the fall of 2022, an interactive online website, and curricular tools. The three-year project aims to reckon with the university’s history of racism, exclusion, and discrimination. The research in this blog post was completed as a part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Public History Project.