# What percentage of extremely anti-gay public figures are in the closet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470 "2011-08-12T16:30:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/41 "2011-08-15T16:49:33Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > What I don’t get about Marcus Bachmann is if he’s truly Gay, and yes, I believe he is, why has he thrown himself into the lion’s den, counseling homosexuals to overcome their evil urges? I mean, what’s his rationale? Is he attempting to hide in plain sight? I agree with the above, but it’s also classic sour grapes. “If I can’t be a happy homo queen in public, nobody else can!” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/42 "2011-08-22T15:22:17Z")
The same number who talk about the temptation of homosexuality. Some people are genuinely repulsed by the idea of homosexuality. Some are closeted. I have absolutely no scientific basis on which to throw out a percentage. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/43 "2011-08-22T22:39:23Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I assume that anybody who is rabidly anti-gay is struggling with his or her own sexuality, so I would put the number at close to 100%; I just don’t think most people spend that much time worrying about other people’s sex life. There are probably millions of fundies all over the world who stick their nose into other people’s sex lives. Are they all gay? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/44 "2011-08-23T04:28:16Z")
I pretty much assume that anybody obsessed with homosexuality and who consider it a deviant choice are struggling to suppress their own sexuality, so yeah, I would guess that there are millions of closeted self-hating fundamentalists in the world. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/45 "2011-08-23T05:51:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I also buy the theory that if someone starts ranting about the temptations of homosexuality there’s a better than even chance they are gay, or at least bi. Or possibly so misogynistic than they are on some level jealous of gays for not being attracted to women, there does seems to be a lot of overlap between homophobia and misogyny. Yeah, that’s about where I would take it. I don’t think the choice part is necessary evidence, though, as that’s just as likely to be people parroting what they are told, possibly to justify their own homophobia or their religion’s stance on homosexuality. That said, it can also be people who are tempted into other sexual situations that just assume the homosexual temptations are similar. For example, I still cannot understand why people who do not want to be outed as gay go around having gay lovers. I can fight the temptation to have sex with women\*, so why can’t they fight the temptation to have sex with men? At the very least, stick with gay porn or something. The people who get caught not only seem to be gay, but also have impulse control problems. \*As I want to wait until marriage or some other as committed relationship. I won’t go into why. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/46 "2011-08-23T07:07:03Z")
Half a dozen of one and six of another… Half them probably are obsessed with making sure nobody else can have a satisfying sex life ; and half are fascinated by same sex attraction, because they can’t stop obsessing to the point where they can’t imagine that others don’t think that way. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470/47 "2011-08-23T12:58:20Z")
Some people are simply haunted by the fear that someone somewhere may be having a good time. But it never occurred to me before I read this thread that there were people who felt that gayness would spread through the population unless it was suppressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-extremely-anti-gay-public-figures-are-in-the-closet/592470.md?page=2)