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Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Restricted Thesis: Campus only access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. Pippa Holloway
Second Advisor
Dr. Nicole Sackley
Third Advisor
Dr. Eric Yellin
Abstract
This thesis examines the federal surveillance and weaponization of sex in Cold War America. I argue that the conflicting institutional cultures of both the FBI and CIA—J. Edgar Hoover's top-down, almost dictatorial leadership style as opposed to CIA agents' relative operational autonomy and culture of confidentiality—led each agency's use of sex for spying to materialize in different, even antagonistic, ways between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. These institutions conceptualized sex as a viable tool for achieving their own goals, especially during a time when "national security concerns” could be cited to justify government action in violation of Americans' civil liberties. I look to both agencies' espionage practices as case studies to ultimately historicize what sex meant to the state during this period.
Recommended Citation
Blaylock, Isabel J., "In the Name of National Security: The Federal Surveillance and Weaponization of Sex in Cold War America" (2025). Honors Theses. 1802.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1802
