As a country, we are officially in uncharted territory. Few queer politicians have garnered as much attention as Pete Buttigieg, let alone a queer politician running for the highest office in the land.
Now, as he begins to campaign throughout the country, Buttigieg will have to figure out what exactly that's going to look like.
Preparing to sit down with Pete Buttigieg for my podcast, LGBTQ&A, code-switching was at the front of my mind. Buttigieg will be visiting parts of our country that are hostile to LGBTQ people and I don't expect him to hide his queerness, but I do wonder how forward it will be in his message as he campaigns in these areas.
Will he refer to his marriage without mentioning that it's to another man? Will he invite his husband onstage? Will he talk about the recently introduced Equality Act as something that will also affect his life and well-being?
Is code-switching even possible today when a video of Buttigieg embracing his husband can be viewed online in red, blue, and purple states?
"These questions were raised when I was in my reelection campaign," Buttigieg tells me. Mike Pence was governor of his state, but, "I very quickly realized that I just had to be who I was, and it's too much work to try to be someone else."
The full interview will be available on The Advocate'sinterview podcast, LGBTQ&A on April 23rd, but watch a clip below.
Starting in May, LGBTQ&A will only be available on Luminary, a brand new podcast app. Upcoming guests include Pete Buttigieg, Roxane Gay, Amiyah Scott, and Ryan O'Connell.
Click here to listen to past interviews with Jake Shears, Trixie Mattel, Mary Lambert, DeRay Mckesson, and Kate Bornstein. The full interview with Pete will be available on April 23rd on LGBTQ&A.
