Why Are So Many Anti-LGBTQ Republicans Interested in Queer Sex? What You Need to Know

Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter

Last week, Republican Bill Berrien, who was running to become Wisconsin’s next governor, dropped out of the race.

Berrien, who ran on a campaign of transphobia and has described transgender people as part of “a radical social experiment,” exited the race days after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel uncovered that he was following a nonbinary porn star and another writer who calls herself a “wholesome perv with a touch of whimsy” and who has posted items such as “Pegging is A-OK.”

In addition to Berrien, many other Republicans have made attacking LGBTQ people a central focus: Trump spent more money on anti-trans ads than on ads relating to any other issue; the American Civil Liberties Union has tracked over 600 anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures this year; and Fox News produced a whopping 30 segments which mentioned trans athletes in the span of one week last October.

Despite this obsession with rolling back queer rights, there is a lengthening list of influential conservatives who aren’t practicing what they preach. We wanted to document the contrast to highlight the hypocrisy and illustrate how these politicians push policies that are not reflective of what they enjoy behind closed doors.

Here are just a few examples:

Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator

• PREACHES:

  • “I believe in the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.”

• PRACTICES:

  • Rumors about Graham’s sexuality have circulated for over a decade, but remained largely unsubstantiated until 2020, when gay adult film star Sean Harding accused him of having sex with many male sex workers, causing #LadyGraham to go viral.

  • In August, Trump ally Laura Loomer testified under oath that Graham is gay, and that she was told this in confidence by multiple of Trump’s staffers.

JD Vance, Vice President

• PREACHES:

  • “I’ll stop calling people ‘groomers’ when they stop freaking out about bills that prevent the sexualization of my children.”

  • Last month, Vance spoke on the so-called “militant transgender movement”: “If you are encouraging people to commit acts of violence against the United States government … absolutely. You’re involved in a terrorist movement.”

• PRACTICES:

  • Multiple photos have surfaced of Vance in drag while attending Yale University’s Law School.

Mark Robinson, former lieutenant governor of North Carolina

• PREACHES:

  • “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth. And yes I called it filth. And if you don’t like that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain.”

• PRACTICES:

  • An investigation found comments from Robinson’s account on a porn website expressing his affinity for trans porn. This reflects data that shows red states have higher rates of Google searches related to trans porn.

Christian Ziegler, former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and Bridget Ziegler, Moms for Liberty co-founder

• PREACHES:

  • Bridget Ziegler was an outspoken advocate involved in the “Don’t Say Gay” law and called trans-inclusive Title IX reforms under the Biden administration an “attack on girls & women, attack on parental rights, and an attack on our constitutional rights.”

• PRACTICES:

  • According to police reports, the couple visited bars in search of women to have a threesome with on multiple occasions. One of these women later accused Christian Ziegler of rape and persistent sexual battery, though the allegations hold that he did so independently of Bridget.

Alex Jones, InfoWars founder

• PREACHES:

  • On drag queens: “We’re going to destroy you...You will ascend to Hell in the reverse order ... we’re coming like the villagers in the night, with the torches burning bright, with fire...and it will consume you.”

• PRACTICES:

  • In a 2018 livestream, Jones was caught with trans porn on his phone.

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Teachers on the Frontlines of LGBTQ Erasure [WATCH]

“A Revolutionary, Life-Changing Experience”: Conservative Christian Lesbians Are Coming Out Later in Life

• Anti-LGBTQ+ GOP Rep. calls for public execution of pro-LGBTQ Democratic congresswoman (LGBTQ Nation)

• LGBTQ youth housing program is ending after Ohio Department of Health grant is not renewed (Ohio Capital Journal)

• Adult Film Star Austin Wolf Sentenced to 19 Years in Child Sex Abuse Case (Them)

• Feds quietly scrub transgender people from national security reports on threats to LGBTQ community (The Advocate)

• At least two Florida cities will not hold their annual LGBTQ Pride events (NBC News)

Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:

• 🆕 Following the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk last month, his legacy has been fiercely contested. Republicans hailed him as a martyr, liberals offered mixed tributes and critics faced retaliation for speaking out. Meanwhile, TPUSA—now led by his widow Erika—has only grown in prominence. With so much debate, we’ve gathered the receipts for a complete timeline of Charlie Kirk and TPUSA’s record on the LGBTQ community.

• 🆕 Since Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has adjusted its policies on LGBTQ issues to reflect the perspectives of the new administration. On Tuesday, Henry Kurkowski digs into exactly what has changed at the company and how these shifts are affecting queer people.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!

Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com

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