Deceptive Sexualities, Nonconformity, and Racial Binaries: An Examination of ‘Appearances’ in America during World War II

Abstract

World War II brought issues of gender, sexuality, disability, and race into the spotlight of American civic life. The war effort united Americans under the guise of defeating Nazism in Europe, while also highlighting existing fractures among racial and gender demographics. While thorough, the historiography of this phenomenon has largely undervalued the fundamental through-line: the importance of appearances. To control undesirable identities while maintaining the war effort and perceptions of a strong, united, heteronormative America, the U.S. military attempted, and ultimately failed, to manipulate appearances of sexuality, disability, and race. This paper examines the existing historiography on attempts to control, categorize, and subjugate sexuality, disabilities, race and gender during World War II in order to unveil the underlying and connecting theme of appearances across diverse texts.