Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, contains a revealing anecdote about his childhood belief that he was gay... Vance’s grandmother... swiftly dispelled his fears with a blunt question
The question was, according to the book, "do you want to suck dick?". Also according to the book, he was 9 when this happened. To be clear, this is a man who says teachers acknowledging queer identities are "groomers". The same man who speaks positively about an adult asking a 9 year old if they'd like to suck dick.
These experiences have shaped his political views, revealing a man who has constantly reinvented himself. This makes his rigid stance on transgender rights all the more perplexing.
No, he's a just a grifter, fuck this weirdly sympathetic portrayal.
The eyeshadow is really telling. I just learned about it from Monday's Chapo (not that I don't want to try something like that myself but, at least I'm not a harmful hypocrite like a third of all male Republican officials).
Had a guy I was in the military with who 'doth protest too much' about gay men...
CW:SA, Alcoholism
It wasn't until he drunkenly tried to wrestle me into position underneath him while he was in his underwear that I stopped hanging out with him. Years on I realized he was trying to rape me, but it wasn't clear at the time because he was absolutely plastered and uncoordinate. Shortly after, he started spreading rumors about me being a gay stalker or something. The guy hated himself and was intentionally drinking himself to death.
There's no reason to think Vance is actually gay based on this anecdote. Basically a preacher scared him into thinking he was gay before he knew what the word actually meant.
This one anecdote combined with his rabid queerphobia is what ques me in. People who deny and repress themselves often externalize their discomfort through a reaction formation.