Queer Community: New York City (1940-1970)

New York City is considered to be the queer community to which Capote belonged, as he spent most of his adulthood there during the height of his fame and publishing years.. New York was home to a multitude of people from all over the country as well as the world. This contributed to New York's repuation as being the “capital of homosexual, transgender, and queer life in America” (Escoffier 1). Times Square, Harlem, and Greenwich Village in particular emerged as the center of the queer community during the 20th century (Kissack 641). Homosexuality, however, was still looked down upon, and remained somewhat “invisible in society” (Cady 1) in the sense that, because homophobia was still very common during the 40s, 50s, and 60s, many men remained closeted. Nonetheless, this did not prevent gay writers, such as Capote, from writing about such issues. In fact, he was only one of many who wrote about “homosexuality as a dilemma of modern identity” (Escoffier 1). Much, but certainly not all, of the work of gay authors during this time appeared to associate homosexuality with violence and murder, describing the lives of “isolated freaks” (Cady 1). One explanation for this is that some gay authors felt they had to compromise their stories about sexuality in order to get their works published (Cady 1). Novels about gay people were much more easily accepted if they related queer life to something negative, such as crime. Therefore, a great many of the works published in this period did not necessarily express all of a writer’s true feelings about sexual identity (Cady 1).

For instance, Capote, with the exception of Other Voices Other Rooms, did not directly write about homosexual characters. Many of his works merely had underlying themes of homosexual behavior and issues. This was typical at the time; because society did not necessarily approve of or accept homosexuality, gay writers wrote about queer issues in a more subtle manner. Yet, this did not hinder the number of gay works that emerged. Talented gay men contributed largely to the drama, dance, music, art, poetry, and fiction that became the “queer moment of the cultural renaissance in the 1950s” (Escoffier 1). Capote’s works and life took place mostly within this aspect of the queer community in New York City. He contributed significantly to literature, theater, and society at this time.

World War II marked an important time in New York City for the gay community. The primary reason for this is that the war brought many more men (gay men as well) to the city. With the flood of homosexuality came an increase in the number and kind of “gay parties.” However, with this also came more regulations established for gays, such as “screening homosexuals from the service” (Kissack 641). These kinds of regulations continued well after the war ended; in fact, between 1940 and the late 1960s, about 1,000 gay men were arrested each year for solicitation charges (Dynes 900). Regulations were also carried out through raids at gay bars around the city. In the late '40s, many gay bars surfaced in Greenwich Village and along 3rd Ave., with names such as Yellow Cockatoo, Swan, and Blue Parrot (Escoffier 1). The bars became the “matrix” for homosexual communities that led right into the 1950s “queer subculture” (Escoffier 1). They were a place where homosexuals could escape from the hatred and discrimination they faced everyday in an atmosphere where they felt they belonged. This was an especially important part of the queer community at this time because “gay culture invested in protecting the ‘secret’ of an individual’s homosexuality, expressing it only in a symbolic or heavily coded way” (Escoffier 2). Thus, the bars were a place where one did not have to hide their secret. However, the raids on these bars did result in some places keeping kissing and certain kinds of dancing at a minimum, so as not to make matters worse if police did come (Dynes 900). Conversely, Capote did not participate in the gay bar scene. He was know to be very outspoken, flamboyantly gay, and never hid his sexuality or relationships with other gay men from public view.

The regulations and watch on homosexuality after the war in New York City also created an increase in political consciousness. As more bars were raided and more homosexuals oppressed by the government, people found the need to fight for gay rights (Kissack 641). Many gay rights groups were founded, including the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, whose focused goal was to pass a gay rights bill to prevent housing and employment discrimination for homosexuals (Escoffier 2). The post 1969 Stonewall Riots opened up a time in which pornography, gay literature, and sex clubs could operate without being automatically shut down (Kissack 641). However, it also brought “a clash between two generations and two cultures-the underground homosexual subculture of the 1950s and 1960s, and the 1960s New Left, youth oriented counterculture” (Escoffier 2). Again, this was not a significant part of Capote’s participation in the queer community of New York City. His contribution remained at a more traditional level of fame: he was not known for being active in gay rights, but rather for his outspoken character and the impact of his works on gay literature and the queer community of New York City.