Closeted politicians stir filmmaker’s ‘Outrage’
Of the many insinuations in “Outrage,” Kirby Dick’s sad, devastating new documentary about closeted gay politicians - OK, alleged closeted gay politicians - the one that’s most disturbing is the case made against a former Southern congressman.
As a young liberal, the politician used his fraternity house “as his gay bar,” a former alleged hookup tells the filmmakers. Yet in pursuit of elected office, the politician got married, went to church, and voted Republican, never quite shaking his same-sex attraction but never doing much legislatively to acknowledge or advance the civil rights of gay people. On numerous occasions, in fact, he voted to suppress those rights.
Such alleged hypocrisy is the crux of “Outrage.” Dick speculates on the homosexuality of several current and former public officials which hasn’t been corroborated by the men themselves.
His charges aren’t new; they’ve certainly surfaced in the alternative press and online. But in accordance with Globe ethics poilcy, I can’t repeat those names here.
While dwelling on political contradiction, the movie unfolds at a unique juncture of psychological and moral character: the perverse place where a politician’s relentless personal drive and a closeted gay man’s shameful desire may meet.
In tying the purported secret gay sex lives of these putatively straight elected officials - the movie focuses almost exclusively on men - to their voting records, a caustic portrait emerges of self-deluded souls. Dick goes into scandals involving the married Idaho senator Larry Craig and the now openly gay former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, who sits down and unburdens himself for the camera (he talks about “living your truth” with an abandon that suggests either lots of therapy or lots of disco). Former Arizona congressman Jim Kolbe talks about how much happier he was after he revealed he was gay (we never hear from his ex-wife, although Mrs. McGreevey does speak).
“Outrage” is armed with commentary and insights from openly gay members of Congress like Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin, activists like Larry Kramer (of course) and Rodger McFarlane, who died last month, and such Washington insiders as Hilary Rosen. The movie never allows you to forget its aim. It wants to hold these men accountable - if the speculation is true - not for their conservatism but for their double standard. “Outrage” tries to put the officials on a couch and determine why so many are Republicans. Someone likens their alleged behavior to playground politics, where potential outcasts help bullies persecute kids to keep the bullies off their trail. How could I be gay?, the thinking goes, I’ve voted with my party to block the passage of so many gay-friendly bills. See Closeted politicians stir filmmaker’s ‘Outrage’
Boston Globe
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Why It Matters that Adam Lambert is (Probably) Gay
It matters that Adam Lambert, the heir apparent as the next American Idol, is apparently gay — precisely because it doesn’t matter.
First, whether Lambert is homosexual or not, he definitely is “queer,” a word many GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) people have reclaimed from the dustbin of history as a proud self-identification. He gender-bends, he sings high notes, he wears makeup and jewelry. For a show about creating the next typical pop star, he is atypical. Simply being gay is, perhaps, no big deal — but Lambert flaunts his gender non-conformity. As he himself said, when photographs of Lambert kissing other men surfaced on the Internet, “I have nothing to hide. I am who I am.” Bravo!
This bravado stands in sharp contrast to previous generations of androgynous pop stars, who vociferously denied their gayness even as their obvious queerness was leveraged into worldwide pop success. Clay Aiken, George Michael, even Boy George all used to deny their sexualities — and Elton John hid behind “bisexuality” for many years as well. To most of us in the gay community, this was ludicrous; at the same instant these male stars were protesting the awful insinuations about their manhood, they flaunted their gender-bending and/or androgyny as part of their appeal. Not Lambert. He is who he is, and it’s fabulous.
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Why It Matters that Adam Lambert is (Probably) Gay
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