Anti-LGBTQ Security Campaigns in the CCC

• Homosexuals were designated as and associated with what during the cold war?

  Homosexuals were designated as a "national security threat" because of the false association of homosexuality with character weakness. They were also falsely associated with Communism during the Red Scare: seen as easy targets for blackmail had "character weakness."
• In the 1950s/1960s investigated in which sector of the Canadian government and for what reason?

  In the 1950s/1960s thousands of people in Canadian military, RCMP, and government positions were investigated for: possible homosexuality.
• The Security Panel in Canada included members from?

  The Security Panel in Canada included members from:

  • The Queen's Privy Council
  • The Department of National Defence
  • The Department of External Affairs
  • The RCMP
• What did The Security Panel Aim to uncover?

  The Security Panel sought to uncover civil servants with "moral" and "character" flaws. This is code for homosexuals.

  • The majority of those targeted were male.
  • Male homosexual was seen as a social threat.
  • In 1961 - 62 the Security Panel "identified" 850 homosexual through the use of "fruit machines."
  • Employees were either fired or demoted.
• What was the "Fruit Machine?"

  An electropsychometer used and developed by the Canadian government's Security Panel to identify individuals who were gay through showing images that were assumed to arouse gay people. This would be detected through changes in: pulse rate, skin reflexes, breathing rate, and pupil dilation.