The Canadian War on Queers- Lecture & Book Review
What comes to mind when someone says to you that this is a case of “National Security”? I know from my understanding it means something of importance and that we are talking about values held by our country. But the values that were held by our country years ago might have been a moving target to sanitize our nation.
In Dr. Gary Kinsmen and Patricia Gentile newly released book “The Canadian War on Queers”, National Security as Sexual Regulation, by UBC Press, (450 pg.) is a must read for any gay or lesbian person wanting a historical perspective of what happened many years ago, but it also may raise questions about the conduct of our society today in issues of National Security.
If someone were to approach you and say “it is a case of National Security”, i think most would cooperate to ensure that our secrets are not divulged to foreign countries or spies. Winding back the clock to the 40’s, 50s’, 60’s and 70’s this book provides an overview of the time before the Charter Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Acts by both province and state.
Dr. Gary Kinsmen came to Lakehead University, in Thunder Bay, to give a talk on his new book and it was fascinating to hear the stories and analysis of what took place in our country many years ago.
Queers in the 50’s were considered to be fellow travellers with communists and deemed to have a “character weakness” which left them open to blackmail. Not only were they queer but a perceived threat to society. In that time if you worked for the government in the Public Service, the RCMP, or the Canadian Forces you were susceptible to harassment from the security regime, especially if you were being promoted to another level that required higher security clearance.
We all know from our personal journeys of being gay that coming out is a lifelong experience fraught with tension and questions as to how to tell our family or friends about our sexuality. If you hid your sexual orientation in the 50’s and 60’s, then you could be blackmailed by a foreign spy into exchanging state secrets. Although this was considered a threat by the RCMP there are very few cases of this ever occurring.
With the RCMP involved in the security reviews of potential gay or lesbian employees of the government, many people’s careers were finished, in fact thousands were demoted, never advanced, retired or resigned from their work as they were unable to acquire security clearance to move to the next level. Some even committed suicide because of the shame of being found out.
The real blackmailers were the RCMP who when conducting their interrogation with confirmed homosexual would promise leniency in the laws of the day, and ask for names of other queers in the community. The book outlines many first hand accounts of the interrogations and sets up for further analysis through documents acquired from the Access to Information Act, to hear both sides of the story.
This book has been a decade in the making and the historical perspectives are very interesting to say the least for it is able to capture a wide understanding of the topic at hand of the National Security discourse. In the 50’s and 60’s heterosexuality was the norm, anything else did not fit the heterosexual stereotype and was considered deviant and against the interest of the state. So it was through the actions of security screenings that gay and lesbians lost their jobs because they were considered a threat to “National Security”. The book also outlines the growing resistance to this campaign by the gay and lesbian community as in the 70’s Homophile groups took to the streets and made a presents known that it was ok to be gay and lesbian.
For people wanting to understand the challenges of gay and lesbian people in the past, this book is a great read. Although at times the language is saturated with terminology it is certainly understandable to the average reader. Considering todays challenges with the War on Terror, Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and even the holding of the Olympic Games are all reason for thought on what the powers of the state has in the protection of our national interests in the Interest of “National Security.”
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