
"Some of history's most infamous spies weren't just living a double life professionally - they were also secretly LGBTQ+. Though their achievements aren't always documented, queer people have always existed and made contributions in every field, and espionage is no exception. Several spies spanning back centuries were what we would now consider to be LGBTQ+, even if the terminology wasn't coined until recently."
"By the 1940s, Burgess had worked his way into a position with the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), the U.K.'s foreign intelligence service. There he passed along information to Soviet officials about the post-World War II futures of Germany and Poland, and any potential plans for war with the Soviet Union. Burgess defected to the Soviet Union in 1951, where he stayed until his death from arteriosclerosis and acute liver failure in 1963."
Queer individuals have played roles in espionage across centuries, contributing to intelligence efforts despite social stigma and varying levels of openness. Some spies lived openly about same-sex attraction; others were exposed by the very secrets they handled. Operations spanned major historical moments, including the world wars, the Red Scare, and campaigns for Irish independence. Guy Burgess joined the British Communist Party after studying Marx at Trinity College, Cambridge, was recruited by Soviet intelligence in 1935, infiltrated British establishments including MI6, passed information about post-World War II plans for Germany and Poland, defected to the Soviet Union in 1951, and died there in 1963.
Read at Advocate.com
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