The U.S. Now Has Its First Bisexual Governor. Does It Matter?

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Don Ryan/AP

The moment isn't the rare victory for the LBGT movement it once would have been.

Oregon is turning a scandal-marred political climate into a historic moment.

On Wednesday, Democrat Kate Brown, Oregon's secretary of state, took over for Gov. John Kitzhaber, who resigned Friday amid a billowing ethics scandal. By doing so, she makes history, becoming the country's first openly bisexual governor. In an age where gay rights have made rapid gains and same-sex marriage is legal in more than 30 states, though, Brown's history-making moment isn't the rare victory for the movement it once would have been.

For many in states where gay marriage is legal and LGBT people serve openly in government, Brown's ascendancy isn't monumental. But for young people in the LGBT community, having a role model like them helps send the message that the viral gay advocacy campaign has some credence: It does get better.

"It sends a very, very meaningful message to LGBT youth across this country that you can be open and honest and have great both personal and professional success in your life," Human Rights Campaign spokesman Fred Sainz told National Journal.

On a personal level, that could still make a big difference. According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, a gay-rights group that focuses on K-12 education, more than 80 percent of LGBT students have been harassed because of their sexual orientation, while 63.5 percent feel unsafe at school for the same reason.

"We still live in a country where young LGBT people face routine name-calling, denigration, bullying, and violence in our schools," Eliza Byard, GLSEN's executive director, told National Journal. Though the gay-rights movement has made gains at the state and national level, on the ground in the high schools of America, LGBT youth still face enormous discrimination. "The difference between the life of a significant public figure and a child living in Nebraska wondering if they're going to be OK as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person is vast."

But Brown's rise to power, Sainz said, shows that kids who are bullied for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender in the world outside of passing periods and cafeteria lunches, they don't have to hide their sexual orientation to achieve.

The LGBT community is certainly proud of her, he said. More importantly, though, her rise "lends great hope to LGBT youth and LGBT people in general that they are just as important a part of American society as anyone else."

Brown won't be the first LGBT governor in the country's history, although her circumstances are drastically different than those of the first. New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey came out in 2004 after it was revealed he'd had an affair with a man, announcing his resignation in the same news conference and leaving office three months later. Brown's public bisexuality, Sainz said, is by itself a major milestone.

"Among LGBT people, they are among the most pilloried, because gay people believe that they should just make a decision, and straight people believe them to be gay," he said of bisexual Americans. "They get criticism and stigma from all sides."

When they aren't being specifically targeted, Byard told National Journal, bisexuals are often forgotten about. Openly bisexual government officials are a rarity; only one, Arizona's Krysten Sinema, serves in Congress.

"Often, the B in LGBT is neglected," she said. By virtue of being married to a man, Brown "is someone who could simply 'pass' for straight and chooses to be who she is in public. And that's important."

Brown also reflects Oregon's diversity. The state has one of the highest LGBT populations in the country, with 4.9 percent of adults saying they fall under the LGBT umbrella. Nationally, that rate is much lower: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.6 percent of adults identify as gay or lesbian, and 0.7 percent as bisexual.

"Across the board, you get better laws and policy when our elected officials represent the diversity of the communities that they serve," Byard said. "LGBT people are a part of the nation's fabric, and having out LGBT people elected to public office can only benefit all of us by giving us the kind of good policies and legislation that we need."

But more important than her sexual orientation, Sainz said, is her record of political service. Brown became a member of Oregon's State House in 1991 and was elected to the state Senate in 1997. She won her first term as secretary of state in 2008.

"For three decades, she has served that state with great competence, supremely good leadership skills, and with a significant amount of grace under pressure," Sainz said. "And right now, Oregonians desperately need good leadership. They need their state to return to calm waters and for it to be led effectively."

It's up for debate whether Brown can be that leader. Her 2012 re-election bid left her embattled after The Oregonian, the state's biggest newspaper, as well as many other papers, endorsed her opponent in the race. She has also been criticized for endorsing Comcast's attempt to take over Time Warner while simultaneously receiving thousands in campaign contributions from the corporation.

Still, her ascendancy is historic—and as long as kids continue to be bullied for being bisexual, Sainz said, occasions like these will remain significant.

"Not all that long from now, we'll be looking back at it and thinking how quaintly anachronistic it is," he said. "But for today, it matters."

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.