Only in Florida :: Remembering the Purple Pamphlet

The Miami New-Times celebrated Pride this past week by remembering one of the Florida State government's most blunderful documents: a 1964 pamphlet on homosexuality that looks like a soft-core gay magazine from the period.

According to a report published in the New Times on Thursday, it was called "Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida" and was the work of the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee.

"The committee was the brainchild of Charley Eugene Johns, a former governor who had taken office only after the death of his predecessor and was then promptly kicked out by voters and forced to return to the legislature. Because hunting for commies was all the rage in the late 1950s, Johns and his committee tried to do just that," wrote the New Times.

Communists proved too rare for the committee to find; not so for homosexuals. "The committee first went searching Florida's schools, causing the firing of 39 professors and deans from Florida universities for suspected homosexuality and the revoking of the licenses of 71 public schoolteachers. Several students were also expelled for being homosexual."

The Investigation Committee looked deeper into Florida gay life and what they found they published in the so-called Purple Pamphlet - a lurid, if laughable mix of moralizing and racy images, such as the one (pictured) called "Fetish." What also made the pamphlet a collectors item is the extensive glossary of terms right out of "Boys in the Band."

Here are some examples:

CHI-CHI: (Pronounced she-she). Usually a room or apartment very effeminately decorated. Lace works, drapes, etc.

SWISHY: A homosexual with very effeminate ways, especially in walking and gestures.

DIKE or DYKE: Female homosexual.

KING: Same as dike.

QUEEN: A Male homosexual.

QUEEN: Leader of a a group of female homosexuals.

TYPES OF QUEENS:

69 queen.
Browning queen
Reaming queen
Belly queen
Hand queen
Golden-shower queen

(All of the above are fairly well self-explanatory.)

GAY MARRIAGE: Mutual agreements between homosexuals of either sex to live together and observe the normal code of ethics concerning marital fidelity.

TRICK DAY: A day that two married homosexuals are free to go with someone else for the one night. The frequency of these depends entirely on the agreement reached by the two married homosexuals.

G-WARNING-G (General) or RED: Tip off of an oncoming raid which will happen soon. Warning for all gay people to leave the bars and head home.

ENURITICS: Psychopaths who are interested in urine.

SCREAMING QUEEN or FLAMING BITCH: Any exhibitionist who outwardly proclaims his homosexuality and his homosexual intentions.

As for the pamphlet's text itself, here's a sample:

"Homosexuality is, and far too long has been, a skeleton in the closet of society," the report begins. "This committee claims no corner on understanding the history or prognosis of homosexuality. It is, however, convinced that many facets of homosexual practice as it exists in Florida today pose a threat to the health and moral well-being of a sizable portion of our population, particularly our youth.

"The best and current estimate of active homosexuals in Florida is 60,000 individuals," it continues. "The plain fact of the matter is that a great many homosexuals have an insatiable appetite for sexual activities and find special gratification in the recruitment to their ranks of youth. The homosexual's goal is to 'bring over' the young person, to hook him for homosexuality.

"A veteran investigator of homosexual activities summed up the feelings of many who have studied the problem of homosexuality in Florida, when he said, 'We must do everything in our power to create one thing in the minds of every homosexual and that is to keep their hands off our children. I don't think that this is asking too much of us -- too much of every parent, for if we don't act soon we will wake up some morning and find they are too big too fight. They may be already. I hope not.'

"We hope that many citizen organizations in Florida will use this report as a jumping off point for a serious and meaningful consideration of the problem of homosexuality and as a source of information with which to prepare their children to meet the temptations of homosexuality lurking today in the vicinity of nearly every institution of learning."

According to the web site BehindClosedDoorsFilm.com, "More than two thousand books were printed at a cost of $720. The first thousand were sent to legislators, newspapers, and other state officials. Soon after, the pamplet allegedly was sold as pornographic literature on the streets of New York city. When lawmakers realized the purple pamphlet was viewed as 'state sponsored pornography,' they halted further publication and denied funding to the Johns Committee for the next legislative session."

"Behind Closed Doors" is a documentary produced by Allyson A. Beutke, a graduate of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, about the Johns committee. It has aired on PBS stations in Florida and is available for purchase. Email [email protected] for ordering information.