Having died earlier this month after 20 years within the Senate, Lindsey Graham is more likely to be remembered for his roles in overseas coverage and his imprimatur on Trumpism. For LGBTQ+ individuals particularly, he could also be remembered because the final closet case.
There isn’t any verified public proof of Graham’s sexual orientation. He constantly denied the rumors, stating in 2018: “To the extent that it issues, I’m not homosexual.”
The reality could stay hidden. That’s the nature of accusing somebody of being a closeted homosexual particular person: The declare is inconceivable to show false and sometimes isn’t proved to be true. But the query of Graham’s alleged homosexuality reminds us that even in 2026, homophobia retains many LGBTQ+ individuals within the closet. The official silence round his sexuality reveals a core problem in together with LGBTQ+ individuals in society.
Graham’s work life parallels the progress of LGBTQ+ rights. Born in 1955, he entered maturity within the mid-Nineteen Seventies, simply after Stonewall launched the up to date LGBTQ+ rights motion. Success for the motion was sluggish and hard-won. Even native civil rights protections took a long time. A Democrat, Invoice Clinton, signed Republican laws in 1996 that barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages (the so-called Protection of Marriage Act). The U.S. Supreme Court docket decriminalized homosexuality simply over 20 years in the past, in 2003. Marriage equality arrived simply over a decade in the past. Six years in the past, the Supreme Court docket prolonged civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ individuals.
This fast change leaves us, in 2026, in a disjointed world, wherein middle-aged and older leaders stay as if homosexuality have been against the law, whereas youthful individuals can not totally perceive why anybody can be closeted in any respect. So many younger individuals determine as LGBTQ+ that, like straight and cisgender individuals, many don’t even hassle to come back out.
In a current regulation evaluate article, I argued that regardless of the comparatively fast entry of LGBTQ+ individuals into society, the world on the prime appears radically completely different. It’s virtually completely straight. To the extent LGBTQ+ individuals rise to the highest, each private and non-private, they virtually at all times stay within the closet. The U.S. has only one brazenly LGBTQ+ senator, Tammy Baldwin. Three governors and 12 members of the Home of Representatives fill out federal management.
Essentially the most highly effective brazenly homosexual leaders obtained their positions by means of appointments: Few appeared to object to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s appointment by President Trump. However whereas many have praised Pete Buttigieg in his public roles, and as a rising voice for the millennial era in President Biden’s Cupboard, others nonetheless dismiss his presidential prospects due to his sexuality and his household dynamics.
The non-public sector matches this report: just one CEO within the Fortune 500, and LGBTQ+ individuals represent lower than a % of main company boards.
Why is that this? As a result of LGBTQ+ individuals know that to climb the ladder one should lie about being homosexual. It’s not exhausting to think about why somebody beginning a political profession in Nineteen Seventies and Eighties South Carolina would select to current as straight. Bold homosexual males at the moment knew the trail to management lay solely in preserving their sexuality a secret.
Closeted individuals play a posh position inside the LGBTQ+ group. They might publicly oppose LGBTQ+ rights. They might even persecute those that are open. That’s why many LGBTQ+ individuals referred to Graham as “Girl G,” to mock his hypocrisy. It’s additionally why some within the LGBTQ+ group have supported outing those that refuse to come back out.
Closeted individuals wrestle mightily to handle their id. Sustaining any lie at all times requires immense effort. Previous to smartphones, individuals similar to Sen. Larry Craig (who resigned after cruising for intercourse in a males’s room) may go to homosexual bars and golf equipment with out instantaneous lack of their careers. Now, smartphones’ omnipresence has annihilated the privateness of LGBTQ+ areas.
What issues is that this: Homophobia defines management, simply as sexism and racism do. Each public and non-public elites use heterosexuality as a qualification for management. Most company boards don’t choose brazenly LGBTQ+ individuals as chief executives. The general public sector isn’t any higher. To rise to the highest, virtually at all times, one should be straight or no less than keen to faux. The challenges confronted by LGBTQ+ individuals of Graham’s era could have appeared insurmountable, however youthful candidates, similar to Buttigieg, nonetheless face severe obstacles when working for workplace.
What issues now — particularly now — is that this: Let’s hope Lindsey Graham is likely to be America’s final closet case. LGBTQ+ individuals can’t accept equal rights; we should acquire equal alternative. The private and non-private sectors ought to pursue insurance policies so that folks don’t really feel pressured to remain within the closet; a part of this includes welcoming extra brazenly LGBTQ+ leaders. Solely then will inclusion turn out to be a actuality, particularly for the various bold, promising LGBTQ+ leaders. Having a broader group of potential leaders, unafraid to be who they’re, can solely enhance society.
Darren Rosenblum is a professor of regulation who researches company inclusion.
