Is Rep. Aaron Schock GAY??

I try very hard not to do any tabloid style outing of public officials, but this one caught my attention.  So I figured I would consolidate all the rumors and see where I ended up.

BACKGROUND

For those who don't know Aaron Schock is the incredibly young Congressman from Illinois, who was elected at the tender age of 27.  He is also famously attractive.  Unfortunately, he is also conservative.  He didn't ride the Tea Party wave into Congress and I've seen no evidence that his is off-the-wall-nuts like they are, but he is none the less conservative.

His appearances in the mainstream media are generally without fanfare, though he does have a tendency to go up against the brilliant Rachel Maddow.  As you might imagine, the result is that Rachel uses him as a punching bag for the entirety of the 60 minutes of the show.


PHOTOS
People have been making a big deal out of two different things.  First, there are the pictures.  Rep. Schock is a VERY attractive gentleman.  If you are not convinced that a congressman can be that attractive check out the following pictures.

First there was the famous swimsuit pictures with Mr. Schock posing shirtless with a busty lady friend behind him.  Many people who are convinced that Mr. Schock is gay see this picture as a crass attempt to show off his straightness.  It could also be that he really is straight.

Second is the infamous blue belt picture.  In this picture we see Mr. Schock having a grand ol' time at a party sporting a plaid shift tucked into a white pants, held up by a vibrant blue belt.  To be fair, no self respecting straight man would wear something like that.  Most gay men wouldn't even be caught in that. His staff claims he "burned the belt," but I'm not sure I believe it.  Realistically, I see there being two explanations for the belt.  (1) he really is gay and was so clueless and stupid as to wear something gay and nearly out himself or (2) he is straight and either let someone else dress him or carelessly grabbed something flamboyant.  For someone perpetually battling gay rumors I find it hard to believe that he would consciously wear something that would fan the flames.  I'm going with the "he wasn't thinking" option on this one.

Third is the, now iconic, photo of his abs on the cover of MensHealth.  This is where my favorite stereotype comes into play.  The logic goes, since he is attractive and has a nice body, he must be gay.  That's really it.  Gay people have convinced themselves that any Republican who keeps himself in shape and works out must be gay.  Whether or not this turns out to be true, it's a little silly, don't you think?

RUMORS
Aside from the photos.  There are the "hook-up" rumors.  One source, who worked for GOProud for a short time, told me that Mr. Schock has hooked up with one of the founders of the organization, as well as some influential Republican donors.  I checked out the founders online and I'm sorry to say that I'm not convinced.  The founders are not exactly in Mr. Schock's league.  If you were going to hook up with anyone it should certainly be people like GOProud (who wont out you because they have a vested interest in your success), but that doesn't necessarily mean it happened.

Then there are the "live in partner" rumors.  This partner has reportedly been seen at various functions around the city.  This would be pretty damning evidence except for the fact that there are no pictures of this mysterious person.  For all the people who claim its a big open secret, I haven't been able to find a single person smart enough to snap a picture.  So either it's a rumor or all the people who witnessed this earth-shattering, possibly scandalous event were just too stupid to snap a pic.  Here is the only potential evidence I could find to corroborate this rumor.  Again, I would be shocked that he would be so stupid as to have his partner hold the bible at his swearing in, if he is in fact in the closet.  So once again, I'm not convinced.  If it were that obvious, someone would have nabbed a picture.

Finally there is the "he's a homophobe, therefore he must be a homo" rumors.  They are as stupid as they sound.  Statistically speaking, yes, closet cases are more homophobic than your average conservative, but I don't see any reason to think that Schock is all that hateful.  He is a movement conservative, anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage, but he hasn't exactly gone out there and started evangelizing the evils of homosexuality.  If anything, he seems to have taken the "are you gay?" questions in a bemused but tolerant manner.

MY THOUGHTS
Pretty simple on this one.  While lots of people want to believe that Schock is the DC version of Tom Cruise, I just don't see it.  The media snapped a few incredibly flattering pictures and the gays are screaming "he's one of us."  From there rumors about the men he's slept with and the men he keeps have abounded, without the slightest bit of corroborating evidence.

Until I get something more concrete, I think Rep. Schock is just a hot frat boy with a pretty face and obsession with his body.

Common Sense