On Tuesday, openly gay conservative Chad Felix Greene published a piece for The Federalist titled, “The Stigma Against My Conservative Politics Is Worse Than The Stigma Of Being Gay.”
In the piece, Greene writes about the parallels between the bullying tactics and aggression he experienced as a gay teenager and what he currently experiences as a gay conservative adult:
When I was out in high school and complained about bullying, taunting, and rejection from my peers, I was repeatedly told that I should stop “flaunting” my sexuality in front of people. My grandmother would often ask why I felt the need to shout from the rooftops that I was gay. My dad often asked me to tone down my gayness to avoid embarrassment and confrontation.
… Everything I was told to fear about being openly gay has become a reality in being openly conservative. The fear of being fired, harassed, called dehumanizing names, bullied, and denied access to public life (even violence) are all realities I face today as a conservative.
Greene explains that he feels a certain anxiety when expressing conservative opinions because of the retribution from progressives that might follow.
On Wednesday, Lauren Theisen wrote a piece for sports news website Deadspin titled, “Conservative Gays Need To Shut The F*** Up.” In the article, Theisen disparages Greene and other gay conservatives for their political affiliation.
Below are two excerpts from Theisen’s condemnation of Greene:
… conservative gays using their sexuality as a means to defend their abhorrent views have become more and more common as queers win more widespread acceptance.
… But wealthy and mostly white gay men have all too often been afforded the choice not just to shed the “oppressed” label, but to become oppressors themselves. Their sexuality, then, becomes a tool used to help uphold the anti-feminist, white supremacist, wealth-favoring status quo, and they need to f****** stop.
After criticizing other “prominent right-wing f*gs,” Theisen castigates Greene for having the audacity to admire Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro.
Greene has responded to this particular criticism, which has come from multiple sources, with the following tweet:
Greene also responded to Theisen’s attack more generally:
Speaking with The Daily Wire regarding Theisen’s piece, Greene simply stated:
I think we need more voices and more empathy. We need more willingness to challenge our prejudices. This writer is filled with rage and hatred over what she believes is true about conservatives as a group, but has never considered that she might be wrong.
Other gay conservatives are beginning to respond to Theisen’s demand that gay conservatives “shut the f*** up.”
Guy Benson, political editor for Town Hall, simply tweeted:
Brad Polumbo, assistant editor of Young Voices, pushed back harder, penning a response piece for The Washington Examiner in which he excoriates Theisen, saying her broadside against gay conservatives “serves as a case study of how identity politics is an assault on individualism.”