DC is buzzing about a Senate sex scandal. What it says about the way we discuss gay sex.
A gay sex scandal ignited the group chats of many a D.C. denizen in recent days in regards to a video that allegedly depicts a male Democratic Senate staffer having sex with another man in a Senate hearing room. The staffer, who worked for Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, is no longer a Senate employee.
"I was angry," Cardin said of the scandal on Monday, "disappointed. It's a breach of trust." Capitol Police are investigating.
Many in the community rolled their eyes or guffawed about the incident – something to gossip about. Meanwhile, some lawmakers, mostly conservatives, were quick to issue critical statements. Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, for example, posted a meme asking "which desecration was worse" with a still from the video side by side with one from the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Experts agree a sex act at work, filmed and shared online, in a revered Senate hearing room, would make headlines, regardless of who was involved. But they say reaction to this particular scandal may speak volumes to how we talk about same-sex relations.
'It's always newsworthy when sex and politics intersect'
Keep in mind, a straight sex scandal is famously not without precedent in the Oval Office. Monica Lewinsky has talked extensively in recent years about how the never-ending gossip about her sex life, including the details shared and language used, impacted her.
And experts say, the assumptions and ease with which we talk about about gay men's sex lives is often more pronounced.
"It's always newsworthy when sex and politics intersect," says Chelsea Reynolds, an associate professor of communications at California State University, Fullerton. "So I think it would still be news if straight congressional aides were caught making porn in a senate office. But the current congressional aide hysteria reflects an ongoing panic about queerness that we're seeing proliferate in U.S. policy."
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The fervor over this Senate staffer may be more politically motivated than anything else, Reynolds argues. "I do not believe that sex panics like this one are accidental. While the public and mass media are preoccupied withGeorge Santos and gay congressional staffers, Americans will be less likely to focus on critical policy issues: the climate crisis, U.S. aid to Israel, or the 2024 presidential election, to name a few."
Is gay sex 'more scandalous to the media'?
The language being used to talk about this specific incident matters, says Sheila Addison, LMFT.
"The media didn't identify Lauren Boebert as participating in 'a heterosexual sex act' when she was caught on video engaging in mutual groping with a male partner during 'Beetlejuice,'" Addison says. "The fact that two men together are still called out as engaging in 'gay sex' pretty much answers (the) question – yes, same-sex sex acts and self-identified gay, lesbian and bisexual people are treated differently by the media and society."
Michael Bronski, a Harvard University professor and author of "A Queer History of the United States for Young People," says history plays a role here.
"Historically gay sex has always been more scandalous to the media," says Bronski." "In part because it was non-heterosexual, but also because – until somewhat recently it was also illegal."
Marriage equality became the law of the land in 2015, but that didn't suddenly mean all LGBTQ+ relationships were accepted. That's partially because sex, for some, remains largely about procreation. It explains, too, the vast interest in the recent sex scandal − and abuse allegations − linked to a Florida GOP power couple involved in a threesome.
"Queer people's sex lives and online behaviors are still considered 'deviant' in a society that at least pretends to value chastity, monogamy, and sex for procreation," Reynolds says.
No one can deny this latest buzzed about D.C. scandal makes for juicy gossip, and as such it's not going away anytime soon, Reynolds suspects.
"Gay men's sexual freedom makes vanilla America both titillated and infuriated, which explains why the latest sex scandal in Congress feels like a car crash the public won't look away from."
Contributing: Riley Beggin
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