Oral History Association

Coming out under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two by Allan
Berube; Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century
America by Lillian Faderman
Review by: Loralee MacPike
The Oral History Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 1993), pp. 133-137
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oral History Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3675056 .
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 Book Reviews 133

COMING OUT UNDER FIRE: THE HISTORY OF GAYMEN

AND WOMEN IN WORLD WARTWO. By AllanBerube.New
York:FreePress,1990.377pp. Hardbound,
$22.95.

ODD GIRLS AND TWILIGHT LOVERS: A HISTORYOF LES-

BIAN LIFE IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA. By Lil-
lianFaderman.
NewYork:Columbia Press,1991.373pp.
University
Hardbound, $12.00.
$29.95;Softbound,

It maybe centuries
yetbeforelesbianandgaystudiesmatches theim-
mensedocumentation andsophisticated
theoryofsocialandfamilyhis-
tory,butthetwobooksunderreviewhereare a foundation forthat
Thesevolumes
enterprise. arepartofthetwentieth bold-and,
century's
inthelightofpresent
discussion
onhomosexuals inthemilitary,
perhaps
ultimatelysuccessful-attempt ofhomosexuali-
at socialnormalization
ty.And,inpart,theirstrength
andpersuasivepoweris proportional
to
useandanalysis
theirskillful ofwhatlesbiansandgaymensayabout
themselves.
AllanBerubeinterviewed 71 peoplewhoservedin WorldWar
II forComing Out under Fire. LillianFaderman interviewed186
lesbians for Odd Girls and Twilight
Lovers. Interviewees
for both
books includedwhites,blacks,Hispanics,Asians, and Native
Americans, as wellas peoplefrom backgrounds bothurbanandrural,
working-classandmiddle-class, richandpoor-a commendably broad
spectrum ofAmerican life.Although women constituted onlyabout2
percentofmilitarypersonnel inWorld WarII, Berube hasincluded eight
women inhisseventy-one interviews (about11percent),making hisbook
a resource
forlesbianstudies as wellas gaymalehistory.(Indeed, Fader-
manusesitas a secondary oralhistory source.)
Berubearguesthatthe military begandiscriminating against
homosexuals as homosexuals attheoutset ofWorld WarII. Itwasthen
thatthemilitary's
policy thathomosexual actswerea crime thatmerited
discharge to a
gaveway psychiatrist-controlled theory thathomosexuali-
tywasanillness, andthesickperson,nottheact,becamethetarget of
anti-homosexualpolicies and directives.At thesame the
time, military's
needforrecruits-sixteen million attheheight ofthewar-created an
ambiguous for
place gay men and lesbiansinmilitryservice.
In theWom-
en'sArmy Corps,forinstance, lesbianswereofficiallyrecognizedas pro-
vidingmuch-needed leadership, and inother branchesofthe service
gay
menwereheavily utilized as cooksandclericals. Perhaps thebestillus-
tration
ofthemilitary'sambiguous attitude
toward gaysoldiers waswhat
Berubecalls"GI drag'--the troop entertainmentsthatwerecreditedwith

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134 ORAL HISTORY REVIEW

preservation ofmoraleduringtheheightofAmerica'sinvolvement inthe

wareffort. Theseentertainments allowedgaysoldierstomakecostumes,
do femaleimpersonation, and "camp" withtheirbuddies-andbe re-
wardedforit.
By 1944,psychiatry hadbeensuccessful in redefining homosexuali-
ty as an illnessrather than a crime. As a crime,homosexuality hadflooded
themilitary courts,tyingup personnel, money, time, spaceinjails.
and
As an illness,itallowedforbrieftreatment anddismissal.ForsomeGIs
thechangewas beneficial,as theywereable to getoutofthemilitary
relatively easily;formostit was not.Internment compounds, or what
oneinterviewee called"concentration camps," were setup; demobilized
soldiersweregivenblue dischargesthatrequiredthemto reporttheir
homosexuality totheirlocal draft boards;and,worstofall, soldiersthus
discharged lostall GI benefits without therecourseofa trial.Thusthe
majorvictory ofpsychiatry overthepenalsystem was a disasterforles-
bianandgaysoldiers,whotothisdayconstitute thelargestsinglegroup
ofAmericans declaredofficially sickandtherefore unemployable. Atthe
sametime,military studiesofhomosexual soldiersandtheirpostwar fates
providedthefirstsubstantial scientificevidencethathomosexuals were
neithersicknorcriminal, butjustdifferent-the basis oftoday'stheory
of homosexuality.
Butperhapsmostimportantly, a militarypolicythatbothprovided
a visibleplace forgayand lesbiansoldiersand simultaneously stigma-
tizedthemcreatedthebeginnings ofcontemporary gayidentity andcom-
munity. Gaysoldiers'isolationand stigmatization gavethemsomething
in commonandwaystoidentify one another. According toBerube,they
a of
gained "language politics" presagedthat "the emergence ofa move-
mentforhomosexualcivil rights"(253).
Berube'sanalysisalso offers themostpowerful answertothosewho
opposeadmitting gaysto the military. His carefulhistory showsthatsince
the organization of America'sfirstmilitia,straight men havealways
showered withgaymeninthearmedforces,andtheirfearsofseduction,
moralcontamination, or lack ofdisciplinehavenotbeenrealized.It is
nota questionofwhether to admitgaysto themilitary; it is a question
ofwhether to recognizetheirpresenceandtheirconsiderable contribu-
tionto maintaining America'sfreedom.ComingOut underFiredocu-
mentsthatcontribution admirably.
Odd Girlsand Twilight Lovers,by LillianFaderman,cutsa wider
swathas itpresents a history ofAmerican lesbianism throughout thetwen-
tiethcentury. Faderman spendstwochapters settingthesceneforthebirth
ofcontemporary lesbianculture.Withwomen'snewfreedoms ofeduca-
tion,employment, andmobility, "romantic friendships" ofthenineteenth
century becamemorewidespread after1900,andthelesbianculturethat

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 Book Reviews 135

emerged between thenand 1920wasfueledbya newsexualopenness

thatallowedunstigmatized experimentation. Whilemiddle- andupper-
classwhite women tended tocontinue theromantic-friendship tradition
established by suchleadingAmerican womenas JaneAddamsand
M. CareyThomas,twoothertypesoflesbiangroupsarose:theex-
perimental blacklesbian communities inHarlem anda working-class com-
munity thatflourished inthebarsandsoftball diamonds. Butitwasstill
possible fora woman tohavesexualactivity with another woman without
seeingherself as a "lesbian."
Thenation'sunselfconsciousness toward lesbianism disappeared dur-
the
ing Depression. When female independence seemed threatening to
theeconomically vulnerable American family,when lesbian subcultures
hadgoneunderground, whenmedical opinion increasingly pathologized
same-sex love,the"lesbianchic"ofthe1920sdisappeared. World War
II, as Berubehas so fullydemonstrated, continued the trend toward defin-
inghomosexuality as illness,yettheopportunities thewarhadcreated
forwomen drewthemtolargecities,wheretheyonceagainfound one
another, andgavethem a garb-pants--which helped them form thevisual
identity whichculminated in the1950s"butch."Ironically, boththe
pathologizing ofhomosexuality, whichgavelesbiansa nameforthem-
selves,andtheMcCarthyite intolerance, whichsilenced them, fostered
theemergence attheendofthe1950sofa variety ofquasi-underground
lesbian communities. Faderman placesworking-class lesbians inbarsand
softballteamsandbutch andfemme roles;middle-class lesbians, calling
ontheir economic privilege ofopportunities forself-support andontheir
history ofapproved romantic friendships, preferred smaller,morecloseted
communities.
Thesedistinctcommunities ofthe1960swerereplaced inthe1970s
a
by younger group who eschewed both rolesand closets and whosede-
batecentered on "essentialism" (Is one born a lesbian?) versus choice
(Does onechoosetobecomea lesbian?). Bytheendofthe1970s, gay
rights activists
wereclaiming theirright toloveopenly, whilelesbian-
feminists wereshaping ananti-patriarchal ideology ofwomen's support
forwomen. Thetimewasatlastright forthebirth ofLesbianNation,
thefirst realsenseAmerican women hadhadofa politically basedand,
moreimportantly, opencommunity; lovebetween women daredspeakits
namealoudproudly forthefirst time.LesbianNationwasshort-lived,
though-in nosmallpartbecauseitsveryprominence madevisiblethe
politicalandideologicaldivisionswithin
thelesbiancommunity: between
culturalfeministsandlesbianseparatists,
between thosewhodownplayed
sex in orderto avoidenactingpatriarchalvaluesandthosewhosought,
through explorationofmalesexualactivities, to discovera moreactive
lesbiansexuality.

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136 ORAL HISTORY REVIEW

Fadermansees the1980sas a timeofconservatism and consolida-

tionwheneconomicsuccessstoppedbeingpolitically incorrectandequal
treatment forgaypeoplewas assumed,particularly byyounglesbians,
towhomtherepressions ofthe1960swereonlyhistory. As inthe1920s,
bisexualityandlesbianexperimentation werechicamongtheyoung, while
olderlesbiansclungto thesafetyofmonogamy. Thesechangesin turn
led tothe1990s.Fadermanspeculates thatourdecadewillbe moremili-
tantand morecolorful,witha return to theangerand demonstrations
thatcharacterized the 1970sseparatist movement.
Odd Girlsand Twilight Loversis incontestably thebestpieceofles-
bianhistoryyet written.It is in its
comprehensive scope-historically and
and
geographically racially-and makes the best use to dateof existing
resources.AndalthoughFaderman's politicalideologyis visible(most
evidenttome inthechapteron the1980s,wheremylivedhistory ofthe
decade differs fromhers),it does notdistorthermaterial.Of course,
anyhistory mustsummarize andgeneralizeinordertoeducetheunder-
lyingprinciples ofan era, and indoingso ittendsto simplify andsome-
timesfalselyorganizetherandomness oflifeas itis livedbyitssubjects.
ButFadermanis carefulto avoidoversimplification, withtheresultthat
thisbook,likeBerube's,willbe thedefinitive history ofitssubjectfor
a longtimeto come.
The extentofbothauthors'use oforalresourcesfluctuates. Fader-
mansetsthepre-1920 stagealmostentirely through printed documenta-
tion;Berubedoesthesameinhissurvey ofthechanging psychiatricbattle
to definehomosexuality. Neitherauthordiscussesoral historymetho-
dologyor disclosesinterview format,andthereis littlestatistical or bi-
ographicalinformation that mightgive readers a pictureof the
respondents. Instead,theinterview materialis used largelyto provide
first-handcommentary thatexpandsand sometimes revisestheauthors'
primary sources.Overall,Berubedependsmoreon oralmaterial toflesh
out his historicalinformation, whileFaderman'sessentiallyacademic
studyis supported and enlivened,butnotsignificantly shaped,byher
interviews.
Partofthisdifference is attributableto thebooks'topics.Muchof
Berube'sbackground information comesfromarchivalandgovernmen-
taldocuments shapedtoeliminate thepersonalelement,so hisextensive
use ofinterview material providesa vitalcorrective to officialdoctrines
and constructs. Whenhe describeshowgaymilitary traineeslearnedto
adjusttobarrackslife,howtheymanagedthetensionsofdragentertain-
ments,howblackand whitegaysexperienced different treatments and
discriminations, and howactualliveswereaffected bybluedischarges,
he turnsa flatpictureofstigmaanddenialintoa three-dimensional scene
populatedby real people.The use oforalhistory is thusabsolutely vital

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 Book Reviews 137

to Berube'saim of reconceiving theintersection of governmental mili-

tarypolicyandhumanrights, foritpresents theonlyresourcewe have
to counteror confirm official"facts."
Fadermanalso roundsout herhistory withoral resources;eighty
interviewees arequoted,some43 percent ofthetotalnumber interviewed.
Butshedoesnottakeas muchadvantage ofherresources as Berubedoes.
Women'swordspermeateher discussionof the McCarthyera, sup-
plementing sketchyandoftenslantedinformation (andmis-information)
withfirst-hand accountsbylesbianswho quietlylivedreallivesin the
shadowofthetwindamnations ofpsychiatry andMcCarthyism. As she
movesintocontemporary times,however, sheuses feweroralresources,
although morewomenlivedopenlylesbianlivesbetween1970and 1990
thanin earlierperiods.Weakestis thechapteron the1960sand 1970s,
whichincorporates onlysevenoralinterviews. Wehearno interviewees'
voices duringherhistoryof Stonewall.
Whatmakesthesetwobooksmostnoteworthy is theiruse of oral
historyas a corrective
to officialconstructs ofsexuality.Thevoicesthat
BerubeandFadermanrescuefromoblivionare ourhistory. Lapsesnot-
withstanding, to havecaptured them is a triumph of oral history.

Loralee MacPike
CaliforniaStateUniversity,
San Bernardino

THE PROMISED LAND: THE GREAT BLACK MIGRATION

AND HOW IT CHANGED AMERICA. ByNicholasLemann.New
York:VintageBooks, 1991.408 pp. Softbound,
$13.00.

NicholasLemann'sbookis a seminalworkthatshouldhavea broadim-

pacton howwe understand Americanhistory andhowwe conductpub-
lic policy.Lemannhas threemajorareasin whichhe changesthescope
ofAmerican history, andtherestofhisstoryfollowsfromtheseinsights,
as will anychangesin policythatmayresultfromhis book.
The firstandbyfarthemostimportant contribution
is thathe adds
a newgroupto thepanoplyofAmericansocialunits.Whilesharecrop-
pershavebeenstudiedas an economicgroup,littlehas beendonetoex-
aminetheircultureandsociety, on theassumptionthatthiswasbasically
an extension ofslavery. Themajortransformationsupposedly camewhen
sharecroppers encountered theurban environment oftheNorth andde-
veloped new social some
patterns, of themself-assertive
and positive,

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