No More Need for a “Good Gay”: In the U.S., an Attempt to Spark a Sex Scandal Turned into Chris Galand's Triumphant Political Campaign

An attempt to destroy the career of 37-year-old American politician Chris Gallant by publishing archival photos of him in leather BDSM gear had an unexpected effect. Instead of shame and public contrition, the candidate received a massive wave of support and new votes. We explore why attempts to weaponize sexuality backfire, what “respectability politics” means, and how this case fits into the BDSM community’s half-century struggle for the right to bodily autonomy.

What happened? From a “porn scandal” to voter enthusiasm

Chris Gallant is a 37-year-old openly gay Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District. Gallant has an impressive résumé: he served in the U.S. National Guard, piloted a Black Hawk military helicopter, and worked as an air traffic controller, union leader, and volunteer firefighter.

The scandal erupted after years-old photos began circulating online and in the media. They show Gallant posing in leather, a collar, a harness, and other BDSM gear. The politician’s lawyer confirmed that the images were authentic, noting that the shoot involved consenting adults: Gallant modeled alongside his then-partner, whom he dated for about four years, for the catalog of a San Francisco fetish-gear store Mr. S Leather. Later, when considering a public career, he asked the store to remove the photos, and it complied with his request.

Opponents and some publications tried to portray the footage as “hardcore pornography” and “XXX material.” However, the audience’s reaction was the opposite of what those behind the leak had expected. A massive show of support erupted across social media and in the comments. Users wrote in droves: “He has my vote”, “Now I want to vote for him even more. Where do I move to live in his district?” and “Can we get a link to the rest of the photos?”. The attempt to discredit him turned into one of the most effective publicity stunts.

Why did the public-shaming mechanism break down?

The classic psychological and social ritual of public shaming is built around three essential elements. First, someone points a finger at a person and declares them “dirty” or “inferior.” Second, those around them pick up on this impulse and share in the collective disgust. Society then excludes the person from its circle.

In Gallant’s case, this pattern broke down at the second stage. The audience refused to participate in the collective condemnation, recognizing a crucial distinction: this concerned the consensual sex life of two adults, not violence, harassment, or coercion.

When society refuses to view consensual sexuality as a source of shame, the mechanism of social humiliation simply stops working. Sexuality ceases to be a weapon against a person the moment those around them refuse to accept that it can and should be punished.

“Respectability Politics”: Why the “Good Gay” Stereotype No Longer Works

What happened exposed the long-standing problem of so-called “respectability politics” (respectability politics). For decades, queer people seeking public office or social recognition were tacitly required to meet a strict condition: to be squeaky-clean, restrained, monogamous, and as asexual as possible.

Within this system, an artificial distinction was created between “good” and “bad” gay people:

• The “good gay” — is restrained, family-oriented, does not stand out, and proves that he is completely “safe” for the heterosexual majority.
• The “bad gay” — openly attends Pride events, wears leather, practices BDSM, has multiple partners, or simply does not hide the fact that he has physical desires.

By leaking the photos, Galanda was counting precisely on this stereotype—to portray a “bad gay” and force him to defend himself. Yet modern voters demonstrated emotional maturity: his professional qualities as a pilot, firefighter, and union leader proved more important than what he wore in his private life. Public office no longer requires a person to become a “genderless function.”

Historical context: BDSM culture, from prison sentences to official recognition

The response to the Galanda case is the result of the BDSM and queer communities’ half-century-long struggle for the right to their own visual and physical space:

• The legal persecution of art: In 1935, Charles Guyette became the first person in the United States to be sentenced to prison for producing and distributing fetish art. In the years that followed, the founders of the magazines Bizarre (John Willie, 1946) and Atomage (John Sutcliffe, 1957) laid the foundations for the visual aesthetics of BDSM, inspiring photographer Eric Kroll, author of the albums Sex Objects and Fetish Girls) and Robert Bishop.
• San Francisco and the SoMa district: Since the opening of the bar Tool Box in 1962 (whose mural by Chuck Arnett appeared in the pages of Life in 1964), San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) district began transforming into a global center of leather culture. Iconic stores opened here (including Mr. S Leather in 1979), and the world's largest fetish festivals began to be held Folsom Street Fair and Up Your Alley.
• Police Raids and Institutional Pressure: Until July 1974, San Francisco had a law banning “cross-dressing,” which police used to arrest and publicly humiliate trans people and drag queens. The raid on the ball at California Hall (1965) and the riot at Compton’s Cafeteria (1966) became turning points in the community's resistance. Later, in 1984, during the HIV epidemic, Mayor Dianne Feinstein's administration succeeded in shutting down gay bathhouses and sex clubs—a ban that was not officially lifted until 2020.
• Preserving Memory: To protect history from erasure and censorship, the following was founded in Chicago in 1991: Leather Archives & Museum, while San Francisco has established an official municipal district LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

What does this mean for the future?

The case of Chris Galand marks an important shift in media culture. In the past, the only way to protect oneself from a sex scandal was to have no compromising material whatsoever. Today, a different kind of freedom is emerging: compromising material may be made public, but society no longer views a consensual sex life as evidence of incompetence or moral failure.

True equality lies not only in the right of a gay man or BDSM practitioner to run for office, but also in the right to do so without presenting a sanitized, carefully edited version of themselves. Voters are showing that they care far more about actual policy platforms, the economy, and healthcare than about old photos featuring leather and harnesses.