1952-10-16 Canadian Government Imposes Employment Restrictions

In Cabinet Directive Number 24, the Canadian government adopted the policy that persons with “defects in their character” which may lead to indiscretion or blackmail should be denied employment in any government job that gave access to classified information. The directive became the basis for denying security clearances and employment to those who were known or suspected of being gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

1952-12-01 Christine Jorgensen makes headlines in New York City

The New York Daily News breaks the story of Christine Jorgensen’s sex change (from male to female) on their front page with the headline “Ex-GI becomes blonde bombshell.” This was the first highly publicized case in the United States of a gender reassignment surgery. Over the course of the next year, Jorgensen would become a media sensation in the United States.