Coming out as gay doesn't absolve you of your anti-LGBTQ+ history
Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday.
Ex-congressman makes shocking Downton Abbey confession
You’re never going to believe this, but it appears that a former Republican politician is a massive hypocrite.
Aaron Schock, a four-term Illinois congressman, was once a GOP wunderkind. He was the first member of the US Congress born in the 1980s but had the values of someone born in the 1890s, consistently voting against LGBTQ+ rights. On Thursday, however, the 38-year-old came out as gay in a 2,000 word post.
Schock’s sexuality, as he himself notes, isn’t a huge surprise to many. Rumours followed him throughout his political career – which came to an ignominious end in 2015 when he resigned amid allegations that he’d misappropriated taxpayer funds. (He was later indicted but charges were dropped last year). Schock was widely known as the Downton Abbey Guy because of his lavish Capitol Hill office which was renovated in the style of a dining room from the British period drama.
Related: Elizabeth Warren endured sexism at every step of her campaign | Moira Donegan
Schock is apparently still seething about the Downton digs which he describes as a “dog-whistle”. “I’d never even heard of, and still haven’t seen, Downton Abbey,” he stresses in his coming-out essay.
After clarifying that urgent matter, Schock expresses remorse for being against marriage equality in 2008, but notes that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also held that position at the time. “[I]f I were in Congress today, I would support LGBTQ rights in every way I could,” he wrote. Nothing says “brave” like supporting something once it becomes mainstream!
While Schock half-apologizes for being against marriage equality, he conveniently ignores the rest of his hugely homophobic record. This man wasn’t just a coward, he was a crusader. He scored a zero on the Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard. He voted against the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded federal hate crime laws to include attacks motivated by gender identity or sexuality. He voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. He boasted about having one of the “most conservative voting records in the state house”.
“Everyone deserves to come out as their authentic self on their own terms,” Glaad, an LGBTQ advocacy group, tweeted in response to the former politician’s declaration. “However, Aaron Schock’s statement fails to acknowledge the years of hurt that his votes … caused LGBTQ Americans.”
I have some sympathy for Schock. He notes that he comes from a religious family who have reacted to his sexuality with disappointment, bible verses and recommendations that he seek conversion therapy. Coming out can’t have been easy.
Nevertheless, coming out isn’t some sort of “get out of jail free” card. It doesn’t absolve you of your history. It doesn’t wipe your slate clean like Schock seems to think it does. As Glaad notes, the ex-politician doesn’t acknowledge the hurt he caused. He doesn’t take real responsibility and he doesn’t even properly apologize.
Instead of asking for forgiveness, Schock seems to demand applause: LGBTQ+ people who don’t welcome him with open arms, he suggests, are “vicious”. His self-indulgent essay paints himself as both tragic victim and courageous hero. “I … hope that in sharing my story it might help shine a light for young people,” he writes. What exactly is the moral of that story, one wonders? It is absolutely fine to spend years screwing over your community for personal gain as long as you come out afterwards? As far as I’m concerned, Schock can shine his light elsewhere.
Dubai ruler organized daughters’ abduction says UK court
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is responsible for the abduction of two of his children, a British judge has ruled. Princess Shamsa was kidnapped from the streets of Cambridge, England in 2000, when she was 19; she hasn’t been seen in public since. Princess Latifa was seized by commandos in the Indian Ocean when fleeing Dubai in 2018 and forced to return home. The judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, also found that the Sheikh had waged a campaign of intimidation against his former wife, Princess Haya. Just a quick reminder: the Sheikh recently hosted Ivanka Trump at the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai. Ivanka praised UAE leadership for their reforms on women’s rights. Sounds about right.
Elizabeth Warren drops out of presidential race
When asked what role gender played in her campaign, Warren said “that is the trap question for women” running for public office. “If you say, yeah there was sexism in this race, everyone says, whiner,” she said. “And if you say no there was no sexism about a bazillion women think, what planet do you live on?”
Almost 90% of people globally are biased against women
That’s according to a shocking new United Nations gender social norm index which analyzed data from 75 countries housing 80% of the global population. The index found 91% of men and 86% of women hold at least one bias against women. Almost a third of people thought it was acceptable for a man to beat his wife. Almost 50% thought men are better political leaders.
Top architecture prize goes to women
Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have won this year’s prestigious Pritzker Prize. The Irish pair are only the fourth and fifth women to have been awarded architecture’s highest honour in the prize’s 41-year history.
Free rail travel for domestic abuse victims
A new “rail to refuge” initiative offers free train travel in parts of England and Wales to women fleeing abusive relationships.
The tragedy of the ‘isle of women’
This beautiful piece in the Guardian about Europe’s last matriarchy is well worth your time.
8 March is International Women’s Day
The day is being marked by enormous protests around the world. It’s also being marked by a lot of advertising campaign, with brands cynically using it as a PR opportunity and turning it into a “corporate Valentine’s Day”.
Bill Clinton says the Monica Lewinsky affair was a way to ‘manage his anxiety’
He offers this astounding excuse in the new “Hillary” documentary. Seriously? He might want to try CBD next time.
