Having died earlier this month after 20 years within the Senate, Lindsey Graham is prone 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 last closet case.
There isn’t a verified public proof of Graham’s sexual orientation. He persistently 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 individual: The declare is unimaginable to show false and infrequently is rarely 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-Seventies, simply after Stonewall launched the modern LGBTQ+ rights motion. Success for the motion was gradual 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 Courtroom 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 Courtroom prolonged civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ individuals.
This fast change leaves us, in 2026, in a disjointed world, wherein middle-aged and older leaders dwell as if homosexuality had been a criminal offense, whereas youthful individuals can’t totally perceive why anybody could be closeted in any respect. So many younger individuals determine as LGBTQ+ that, like straight and cisgender individuals, many don’t even trouble to return out.
In a latest legislation evaluate article, I argued that regardless of the comparatively fast entry of LGBTQ+ individuals into society, the world on the prime seems to be radically completely different. It’s nearly completely straight. To the extent LGBTQ+ individuals rise to the highest, each private and non-private, they nearly 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.
Probably the most highly effective brazenly homosexual leaders obtained their positions by way 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 technology 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 laborious to think about why somebody beginning a political profession in Seventies and Nineteen Eighties South Carolina would select to current as straight. Bold homosexual males at the moment knew the trail to management lay solely in holding their sexuality a secret.
Closeted individuals play a posh function inside the LGBTQ+ neighborhood. They could publicly oppose LGBTQ+ rights. They could 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+ neighborhood have supported outing those that refuse to return out.
Closeted individuals battle mightily to handle their identification. Sustaining any lie at all times requires immense effort. Previous to smartphones, individuals reminiscent of Sen. Larry Craig (who resigned after cruising for intercourse in a males’s room) may go to homosexual bars and golf equipment with out immediate 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, nearly at all times, one have to be straight or not less than prepared to fake. The challenges confronted by LGBTQ+ individuals of Graham’s technology could have appeared insurmountable, however youthful candidates, reminiscent of Buttigieg, nonetheless face severe obstacles when operating for workplace.
What issues now — particularly now — is that this: Let’s hope Lindsey Graham is perhaps 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 individuals don’t really feel pressured to remain within the closet; a part of this entails welcoming extra brazenly LGBTQ+ leaders. Solely then will inclusion grow 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 legislation who researches company inclusion.
