'This is super gross': Slate writer torched for her 'offensively terrible' take on Pete Buttigieg's white male gayness

We already know that gay conservatives aren’t allowed to be a thing. But according to Slate’s Christina Cauterucci, for one, gay liberals can be problematic as well. If they’re white males, that is. According to Cauterucci, it’s great that Pete Buttigieg is gay and all, but the fact that he’s an educated white male ultimately means he’s the wrong kind of gay:

Buttigieg isn’t just gay—he’s also white, male, upper-class, Midwestern, married, Ivy League–educated, and a man of faith. https://t.co/952gLGR4ta

— Slate (@Slate) March 28, 2019

Is Mayor Pete just another white male candidate? How does queerness figure into diversity and representation in 2019? All the definitive answers, from moi:https://t.co/5ecDfPaOJB

— Christina Cauterucci (@c_cauterucci) March 28, 2019

Here’s Cauterucci’s definitive conclusion:

To me, a queer woman, it seems hard to argue that the presidential run of this apotheosis of respectability politics is a major win for diversity. Buttigieg’s perception of queer sexuality as a not-sinful but ultimately unimportant distinction—“like having brown hair,” his coming-out essay said—doesn’t make him less gay. It does, however, put some distance between him and the queer communities he’s getting credit for being the first to represent. And if I’m being cynical (or just honest), it probably makes him more electable.

Straight white male voters will likely find it easier to see themselves in Buttigieg than in the women or people of color in the 2020 field. They’ll be right to do so: Buttigieg’s life experiences—how he’s been perceived, how he’s gotten paid, what he’s believed himself capable of, what opportunities have been available to him—almost certainly have far more in common with those of Sanders and Biden than those of Harris, Booker, and Warren. That’s not to say he won’t face challenges and stereotypes specific to his sexuality, or that he hasn’t overcome obstacles he’s chosen not to share. Homophobia still exists. As Buttigieg has correctly pointed out in town halls and interviews, LGBTQ people can still legally be fired for the mere fact of their identity in most U.S. states. But in a primary for the overwhelmingly pro-gay Democratic Party, Buttigieg can be more accurately lumped in with his white male peers than with anyone else.