Summary: Have you heard that the gay mafia is running Hollywood? Well any disenfranchised straight guy in the entertainment industry will tell you about it. Hyperbole aside, the gay mafia is a running joke/ urban legend that keeps popping up in pop culture. Where is this idea coming from? As much fun as it is to imagine a West Side Story-esque take on The Godfather, there's actually a historical source for this idea that is less than humorous. Everyone knows about the Red Scare, but two shades lighter and just a hair more to the left there was a scare of equal importance. Join us this week as we examine the true story of the Lavender Scare; and explore the ways in which high-powered historical figures like J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy left lasting scars on the LGBTQ Rights cause in America.
