Though the hearings were primarily about government subversion, the hearings also took on occasional accusations of a different taboo: A portion of the hearings were taken up for the express purpose of evaluating the security risk of homosexuals in government and the issue would be brought up on other occasions, as well as being an undercurrent in the investigations.

One such example of this undercurrent during the testimony was this humorous exchange between Senator McCarthy and Joseph Welch; Welch was questioning McCarthy staff member James Juliana about the unedited picture of Schine with Stevens and Bradley asking him "Did you think this came from a pixie?", at which point McCarthy asked to have the question re-read:

Senator McCarthy. Will counsel (Welch) for my benefit define-- I think he might be an expert on that-- what a pixie is?

Mr. Welch. Yes. I should say, Mr. Senator, that a pixie is a close relative of a fairy. (laughter from the chamber) Shall I proceed, sir? Have I enlightened you?

Senator McCarthy. As I said, I think you may be an authority on what a pixie is.