Gender Roles During the Cold War

    During the 1950s and 1960s, gender and sexuality roles were apparent in American culture. As women's power increased, men became frightened that their masculinity was being diminished. Homophobia and the perception of homosexual men also emerged within American society. Throughout the Cold War, this hypermasculinity shaped various political decisions and encouraged military aggression. 

    American gender roles were clearly seen in pop culture, such as TV shows or commercials. In magazines from the 1950s,  there was no mistaking it. Appliance advertisements were accompanied by women using them, and beer advertisements had strong men holding it. On most pages, women were pictured in a house or doing chores, while men wore suits and were represented as more powerful. These ideas or genders and their roles in society that were portrayed in pop culture bled into politics during the Red Scare era. Politicians were afraid of being seen as "weak", this was also fueled by the anti-communism movement. People believed that if you were weak, you would be more susceptible to succumbing to communist rhetoric. This belief affected LGBT people working in the federal government greatly. During the Lavender Scare, these LGBT people were forced out of the government because they were weak and couldn't fight communism. Leaders during the Cold War such as John F. Kennedy and his "intellectual warriors" associated aggression with power and "turned those advocating for moderation or compromise into men incapable of fulfilling their patriotic and gender duties"(Page 3). These associations led to poor decisions during the Vietnam War such as the misuse of military power. 

    Hypermasculinity shaped political decisions by discouraging diplomacy and encouraging aggression. Being a weak man meant you were considered a national threat and were easily susceptible to communism. The Cold War was not just a geopolitical conflict, but a battle for gender identity.