The Fear-Fueled Tactics Of The 1950S Lavender Scare Are Being Revived In Today’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Crusade. From book bans to drag crackdowns, we’re watching the old Lavender Scare playbook rebooted for a new era. This time, the targets are broader, the language sharper, and the media machine faster. But the fear? The lies? The scapegoating? That part hasn’t changed. #LavenderScare #LGBTQHistory #QueerResistance #TransRightsAreHumanRights #ProtectTransKids #SayGay #DragIsNotADrag #BanHateNotBooks #LGBTQRights #WeWontBeErased #VisibilityMatters #QueerVoices #LGBTQWriters #HistoryRepeats
Thank you for writing this. My beautiful, amazing queer teen has been working on their piece for this coming school year’s Speech & Debate season. Topic? The Lavender Scare. Like you, they are finding the threads that connect the past with current events and weaving together a picture of the harms and calls to action. I can’t wait to share your piece with them—you may become part of the works cited! This conversation is so important to have, and your writing makes it easy to share with others in a way that is accessible and meaningful, opening hearts and minds to the experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community. Thank you!
Jill, thank you so much for this! I love hearing that your amazing queer teen is digging into the Lavender Scare. It’s such an important (and often overlooked) part of our history, and yeah… wild how much of it still echoes today. I’m honored you’d want to share my piece with them, please tell them I’m cheering them on big time. We remember so we don’t repeat… though clearly, we’ve still got work to do.
This is really beautifully written. Clear and concerned, but hopeful and so many fantastic calls to action. Thanks for thinking of me and sharing my work :)
Good read. Though I have come out to my sister, kids and niece, I am still navigating what being out looks like in the greater community. I have tried to find an affirming church twice, and both times the church has disappointed. The second one especially - I googled LGBTQ+ affirming (because first one I tried one in a denomination that is supposed to be affirming and then didn’t find anything specifically affirming attending there). When I showed up at the second church, once again, nothing specific. Finally I made an appointment to meet with the pastor, and found out they “love” LGBTQ+ people, and want or lead them out of sin to salvation in Jesus.
I really liked the people there, and after a long life in the closet being a dutiful Christian wife, they are totally happy to accept me if I stay celibate. I am chronically ill and tired, don’t know if I will find someone to date - that requirement might not be too onerous…
But… as the conversation sat with me for awhile, I realized that if I were to come out to the congregation as a whole, I will be an “abomination” to them. They will be afraid to let me talk to their children. Single women will eye me suspiciously when I make small talk. Their “love” is either dusted in the ashes of condescension or a conditional facsimile of empty grace, not open acceptance. Am I maybe being prejudiced against them? Possibly. They are very proud of their volunteering and service in the community. Maybe too many years being in the pews listening to sermons implying that the most unforgivable of sins is being attracted to the same gender - an abomination.
Reading this makes it all the more obvious, especially with the goals in Project 2025. I have decided already I have to be honest about who I am. Living that openly will hopefully leave the door open a little wider for the ones who come behind. Thank you for a dose of practical courage.
Thank you Lisa for sharing this so openly. I can feel how much you’ve carried, the years of trying to do everything “right,” the bravery it took to come out to your family, and the deep, aching hope to be part of a community that sees and loves all of you. You’re not being unfair or judgmental, you’re listening to your gut. And after everything you’ve lived through, you deserve more than conditional love dressed up as kindness. We all do.
Have you ever listened to the podcast We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle, her wife Abby, and her sister Amanda? Glennon has talked a lot about her own coming out experience, and what it meant to walk away from evangelical spaces that once shaped her. There’s something grounding in hearing someone wrestle with it all out loud. You might find pieces of yourself in her story.
The way you’re choosing to live honestly, even when it’s hard or lonely, that’s brave. And it matters. It’s its own kind of ministry. You’re already holding the door open wider for the ones who come next, just by being who you are. I really hope you find a community that doesn’t ask you to dim your light. And until then, please know: you’re not alone. You’re seen. 🏳️🌈💙
Great piece thank you. I have been pondering a lot recently how to dial up being authentically and visibly here in a moment where even in little old NZ it feels like the fundamentalists are coming for us.
Talking to a bunch of older professional gays recently we talked about how it's easier to be open and authentic when you are more senior. It's true, but the risks are still there.
I'm thinking a lot about my own obligation now I've reached those levels to be open and create safety for others with the power I have. Let's not pull up the ladders behind us out of fear
hey Herman! Thanks for the comment. It’s heartening to hear that you’re thinking about how to be both visible and protective. I believe those two things are more intertwined than we often realize.
And you’re right. There is a kind of armor that comes with age, or at least a sense that we’ve survived enough to risk a little more. But the risks don’t disappear entirely, and neither does our responsibility to others.
I’ve always believed that living out loud is one of the greatest gifts we can offer the next generation. Every time we show up authentically, we leave a little more light on for someone else.
So yes, no ladder-pulling. Let’s hold it steady and wave them on up the rungs.
Gotta stick together.
LOVE this, thank you!
Thank you for this helpful post! Will follow all these writers 🥹🫶🏽
Thank you for writing this. My beautiful, amazing queer teen has been working on their piece for this coming school year’s Speech & Debate season. Topic? The Lavender Scare. Like you, they are finding the threads that connect the past with current events and weaving together a picture of the harms and calls to action. I can’t wait to share your piece with them—you may become part of the works cited! This conversation is so important to have, and your writing makes it easy to share with others in a way that is accessible and meaningful, opening hearts and minds to the experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community. Thank you!
Jill, thank you so much for this! I love hearing that your amazing queer teen is digging into the Lavender Scare. It’s such an important (and often overlooked) part of our history, and yeah… wild how much of it still echoes today. I’m honored you’d want to share my piece with them, please tell them I’m cheering them on big time. We remember so we don’t repeat… though clearly, we’ve still got work to do.
This sounds epic! It sounds like a great piece of research they should share! Maybe a guest post even ;)
This is really beautifully written. Clear and concerned, but hopeful and so many fantastic calls to action. Thanks for thinking of me and sharing my work :)
Thank Ben!
Thanks so much for including me on here David! <3
Good read. Though I have come out to my sister, kids and niece, I am still navigating what being out looks like in the greater community. I have tried to find an affirming church twice, and both times the church has disappointed. The second one especially - I googled LGBTQ+ affirming (because first one I tried one in a denomination that is supposed to be affirming and then didn’t find anything specifically affirming attending there). When I showed up at the second church, once again, nothing specific. Finally I made an appointment to meet with the pastor, and found out they “love” LGBTQ+ people, and want or lead them out of sin to salvation in Jesus.
I really liked the people there, and after a long life in the closet being a dutiful Christian wife, they are totally happy to accept me if I stay celibate. I am chronically ill and tired, don’t know if I will find someone to date - that requirement might not be too onerous…
But… as the conversation sat with me for awhile, I realized that if I were to come out to the congregation as a whole, I will be an “abomination” to them. They will be afraid to let me talk to their children. Single women will eye me suspiciously when I make small talk. Their “love” is either dusted in the ashes of condescension or a conditional facsimile of empty grace, not open acceptance. Am I maybe being prejudiced against them? Possibly. They are very proud of their volunteering and service in the community. Maybe too many years being in the pews listening to sermons implying that the most unforgivable of sins is being attracted to the same gender - an abomination.
Reading this makes it all the more obvious, especially with the goals in Project 2025. I have decided already I have to be honest about who I am. Living that openly will hopefully leave the door open a little wider for the ones who come behind. Thank you for a dose of practical courage.
Thank you Lisa for sharing this so openly. I can feel how much you’ve carried, the years of trying to do everything “right,” the bravery it took to come out to your family, and the deep, aching hope to be part of a community that sees and loves all of you. You’re not being unfair or judgmental, you’re listening to your gut. And after everything you’ve lived through, you deserve more than conditional love dressed up as kindness. We all do.
Have you ever listened to the podcast We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle, her wife Abby, and her sister Amanda? Glennon has talked a lot about her own coming out experience, and what it meant to walk away from evangelical spaces that once shaped her. There’s something grounding in hearing someone wrestle with it all out loud. You might find pieces of yourself in her story.
The way you’re choosing to live honestly, even when it’s hard or lonely, that’s brave. And it matters. It’s its own kind of ministry. You’re already holding the door open wider for the ones who come next, just by being who you are. I really hope you find a community that doesn’t ask you to dim your light. And until then, please know: you’re not alone. You’re seen. 🏳️🌈💙
Great piece thank you. I have been pondering a lot recently how to dial up being authentically and visibly here in a moment where even in little old NZ it feels like the fundamentalists are coming for us.
Talking to a bunch of older professional gays recently we talked about how it's easier to be open and authentic when you are more senior. It's true, but the risks are still there.
I'm thinking a lot about my own obligation now I've reached those levels to be open and create safety for others with the power I have. Let's not pull up the ladders behind us out of fear
hey Herman! Thanks for the comment. It’s heartening to hear that you’re thinking about how to be both visible and protective. I believe those two things are more intertwined than we often realize.
And you’re right. There is a kind of armor that comes with age, or at least a sense that we’ve survived enough to risk a little more. But the risks don’t disappear entirely, and neither does our responsibility to others.
I’ve always believed that living out loud is one of the greatest gifts we can offer the next generation. Every time we show up authentically, we leave a little more light on for someone else.
So yes, no ladder-pulling. Let’s hold it steady and wave them on up the rungs.
possible