Honors Program
Document Type
Thesis
Date of this Version
5-2024
Citation
Dunn, Ethan. Silencing and Surveillance: The Struggle of Same-Sex Desire in the Shadow of the 20th Century Police State. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. March 2024.
Abstract
This paper investigates the intersection of social perceptions of vice and gender norms in shaping the policing of sexual orientation and sexuality during the turn of the twentieth century. Employing a legal analysis rooted in the law and society movement and critical legal studies, this study examines how social anxieties surrounding vice and vice crimes prompted swift legislative measures at both federal and state levels, resulting in statutes characterized by broad language that granted extensive discretion to law enforcement officials and judges. The emergence of morals and vice police squads further intensified the targeting of individuals who deviated from prevailing gender norms.
Key findings reveal the pervasive use of homosexuality as evidence of guilt or moral degeneracy in criminal trials. The broad language of sodomy and crime-against-nature statutes before mid-twentieth-century often led to overturned convictions. However, during the mid-twentieth-century, successful prosecutions of homosexual conduct were achieved under these expansive statutes. Additionally, the censorship and closure of queer speech and spaces underscored the enforcement of societal norms. Criticism mounted against vice committees and law enforcement's perceived ineffectiveness in addressing moral infractions. Furthermore, perceptions of drag underwent a transformation from being celebrated as an art form to being condemned, reflecting evolving societal attitudes. Notably, lay opinions on homosexuality often clashed with the perspectives of medical professionals of the era.
In conclusion, this study illuminates how the intertwined dynamics of social perceptions of vice, gender norms, and legal frameworks profoundly influenced the policing of sexual orientation and sexuality during a pivotal period in American history.
Keywords: Vice-Policing, Homosexuality, Early 20th Century, Critical Legal History
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Theory Commons, Sexuality and the Law Commons
Comments
Copyright Ethan Dunn 2024