---
title: "Why were gay Americans afraid to \"come out of the closet\" in the 1950s and early 1960s?"  
description: "Why were gay Americans afraid to \"come out of the closet\" in the 1950s and early 1960s?"  
author: "Rivera fuller"  
published: 2018-05-26  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/43028/why-were-gay-americans-afraid-to-come-out-of-the-closet-in-the-1950s-and-early-1960s  
category: "history, politics & society"  
tags: ["usa history"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# Why were gay Americans afraid to "come out of the closet" in the 1950s and early 1960s? 

Why were gay [Americans afraid](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51044/what-were-americans-afraid-of-during-the-red-scare-of-the-1950s) to "come out of the closet" in the [1950s and early](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/41901/how-did-fears-of-communist-infiltration-affect-american-culture-in-the-1950s-and-early-1960s) 1960s? \
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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/43028/why-were-gay-americans-afraid-to-come-out-of-the-closet-in-the-1950s-and-early-1960s

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