Homophobia and the fear of communism went hand-in-hand during the Cold War. Much like the Red Scare that caused thousands of Americans to be investigated by government officials, employers, and neighbors because of alleged connections to communism, the “Lavender Scare” was an era of increased homophobia where similar investigations against those alleged to be gay took place (Friedman 1105). There was a belief that communists and members of the queer community shared similar characteristics such as corrupted morals and the ability to be hidden within society (Friedman 1106). Allegations of being gay and a communist sympathizer were connected during this time.
The smearing of Senator Joe McCarthy and his credibility as a politician highlights both the Lavender Scare and the Red Scare, showing connections between the two and how homophobia and fear of communism were intertwined. It’s ironic that the connections were first made by Senator McCarthy when he verbally assaulted Pearson, a well-known journalist by saying his sympathy for communists was linked to his sexual deviance (Friedman 1111). This connection McCarthy made would only be turned on and used against him. In 1952, after McCarthy called another journalist, Greenspun, an ex-communist, Greenspun published a column denouncing the senator and questioning both his sexuality and his connection to communism (Friedman 1112). McCarthy’s political enemies began using his connection and relationship with Roy Cohn as a way to question his sexuality and his trustworthiness as a politician (Friedman 1113). In the Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy’s sexuality was never directly questioned. Instead by suggesting and implicating that he was engaging in “unnatural relations” his morality was questioned (Friedman 1115). By commenting on McCarthy’s sexuality, hinting that he could be a homosexual man or at least engaging in homoerotic behavior, his enemies cemented his untrustworthiness and inability to be an honest politician. Additionally, they used McCarthy’s hypocrisy, going after homosexual men while engaging in similar behavior, to suggest he was a threat to national security (Friedman 1124). Political enemies of McCarthy painted a picture of a man who was easily manipulated by other men, thus undermining him as an “autonomous and decisive political leader” (Friedman 1122). By questioning his sexuality and therefore his ability as a political leader, his enemies portrayed him as a weak man, vulnerable to communist threats, and a threat to the security of the nation.
I do believe that sexual innuendos are still used in politics today, but I almost feel like they aren’t really innuendos. When I think of an innuendo, I think of an implication or an indirect insinuation about sex. In today’s politics, I truly feel like sexual smearing is very direct. Even going back to the 90s with the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, that was a very obvious sexual smearing. Today, I feel there are a lot of very blatant gossip and rumors about politicians’ sexuality and sexual doings. There are also a lot of memes and with the use of AI, images, that show Donald Trump in relations with men and question his sexuality due to his effeminate characteristics. Satirical images of Trump and Elon Musk embracing poke fun at their weird relationship but also criticize the anti-LGBTQ policies that are happening under Trump’s administration.
Will Wright 
I agree with what you are saying. I would say that modern politics is a lot more overt with their smear campaigns. What I find interesting, however, is how Cold War era ideologies still permeate modern political campaigns. The far right frequently throw the word “communist” around whether or not the policy their opponent is advocating for actually is communist. Furthermore, with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ only being repealed in 2011, the use of sexuality to impact and deter someone’s career is still prevalent. Even Trump’s previous defense secretary, General Mattis, had the occasional accusation of being gay.
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I very much agree that the sexual “innuendos” today aren’t really that much of innuendos, given how blatant and overt they are. In my blog post I struggled to come up with good examples because most things I could think of weren’t really discrete. I think they still have the same effect though, since they are still a form of sexual smearing. It’s just so commonplace now that I think people don’t feel the need to be as subtle about it. I thought it was interesting that you brought up memes and AI images poking fun at Donald Trump, since they aren’t really as scathing as the sexual smearing during the cold war, but are still meant to attack him and even criticize his policies like you said.
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