As the thirties changed to the forties, the moral outrage and treatment of gays was horrible. Some gays were committed to insane asylums, while for others denial was their only choice - or suicide.
War changes things.
Hiding their homosexuality, many gays wanted to prove their masculinity, by enlisting in the Army. Besides women taking the place of men in factories, they joined the WACs. Some lesbian members of these battalions were the most highly decorated WACs in the war. The gay bars began to grow in the forties and this was a wonderful time for American Music. With the ending of the war, many gays and lesbians settled in port cities like New York and San Francisco.