The Straight State

Men, did you know that too little body hair or too much talkativeness could keep you from being admitted to the United States in the early 1900s? The Straight State will have readers shaking their heads at the outrageous presumptions that immigration inspectors applied to keep “degenerates” out of the country. This was the first time that federal officials had both the interest and power to create policies against homosexuality, and they were crassly influenced by the eugenics movement and hostility to the poor. Canaday also shows how early welfare policies perpetuated gender stereotypes and discrimination against sexual “deviants,” favoring… show more.

This brilliant book lays to rest any doubt that might exist about whether sex and sexuality factor in US policymaking. With extraordinary originality, Margot Canaday shows how sexual ideas and fears shaped policies concerning welfare, immigration, and the military. By the 1940s and 1950s, the federal government both privileged heterosexuals and overtly marginalized and excluded queer people. Whether an individual sought public assistance, access to legal immigration, or the ability to serve in the military, sex shaped the very meaning of US citizenship.