New Biography: Young Obama ‘Considered Gayness’

The Daily Caller ^ | 04/26/2016 | ALEX PFEIFFER

[MaxistheBest]

President Barack Obama considered being homosexual as a young man, according to a forthcoming biography of the president.

The biography by David Garrow, “Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama,” is set to come out on May 9. Garrow wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr., and is a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post.

In a chapter about the former president’s two years at Occidental College, Garrow reveals a close relationship Obama had with an openly gay assistant professor named Lawrence Goldyn.

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“Three years later, Obama wrote somewhat elusively to his first intimate girlfriend that he had thought about and considered gayness, but ultimately had decided that a same-sex relationship would be less challenging and demanding than developing one with the opposite sex,” Garrow wrote. “But there is no doubting that Goldyn gave eighteen-year-old Barry a vastly more positive and uplifting image of gay identity and self-confidence than he had known in Honolulu.”

Garrow recently spoke about his book on The Jamie Weinstein Show. When asked about Obama experimenting with homosexuality, Garrow paused and replied, “I think anyone and everyone, no matter what their role in life deserves a certain basic degree of privacy, in that context.”

[Brown Deer]

Garrow reveals a close relationship Obama had with an openly gay assistant professor named Lawrence Goldyn.

Obama’s Gay Mentor

Lawrence Goldyn ’73

In April 2009, the Advocate, a leading gay and lesbian magazine, asked president Barack Obama who had most profoundly influenced his ideas about gays and lesbians. The first person on Obama’s list was his mother; the second person was his political science professor at Occidental College, Lawrence Goldyn ’73.

“He was a wonderful guy,” Obama said. “He was the first openly gay professor that I had ever come in contact with, or openly gay person of authority that I had come in contact with. And he was just a terrific guy. He wasn’t proselytizing all the time, but just his comfort in his own skin and the friendship we developed helped to educate me on a number of these issues.”

For Lawrence, the remark confirmed something he had long believed—in theory, at least. “This is great consolation to anyone who has ever been a teacher,” he says. “You never know whom you are going to influence.”

As Lawrence spoke to Reed from his office in Fort Bragg, California, it was easy to imagine him as a dynamic lecturer. He was observantly precise at one moment and bitingly off the cuff at another, and his New York accent was deliberate, measured, and tough.

This style gave Lawrence a high profile at Occidental—he describes himself as a magnet for outsiders at the college. His roguish references to sensitive issues undoubtedly contributed to his popularity among independently minded students in the ’70s. Marginalized groups flocked to him: gay men, gay women, women of color—and Obama.

Obama’s presence was exceptional, Lawrence says. Most straight men did not want to be seen associating with gays because of the social stigma, but Obama was not concerned about what people might think.

Lawrence’s willingness to serve as mentor stemmed from his own undergraduate experience. He arrived at Reed uncertain about his own sexual identity at a time when most gay men kept their sexuality firmly locked in the closet. Dissatisfied with this furtive existence and the limits of social support on campus, he took a leave of absence and traveled around Europe. There he crafted a new identity, developing a greater comfort with the tag “gay” with each new destination.

When he returned to Reed, he resolved to be upfront about his identity, but the response was underwhelming. “Nobody cared in the slightest,” he says. “That’s the flipside of no support—nobody cares. I realized, this is what happens when there’s no mentor. So halfway through grad school I decided to become a mentor. I sort of forced my way though this, and since then I’ve encouraged gay men and women to use me as a mentor.”

Despite his popularity among students—he was nominated for a teaching award—Lawrence’s career suffered from his open sexuality. After teaching for two years, he was denied tenure. “The reason I didn’t get it is because I was ‘too stuck in sexual politics.’ I took it as them saying, ‘You’re gay, you’re too publicly gay.’”

“When I was at Occidental it was an extremely straitlaced white Protestant school, and for anyone who didn’t fit that mold, you clearly stood out,” said Lawrence. “Occidental has changed a lot [since]. That makes me feel good because I think I probably contributed to it. But the price I paid for it was that I lost my job in the process.”

Disillusioned with academia, Lawrence retrained himself for a career in medicine. He earned an MD from Tufts University and now practices in Fort Bragg, where he is the medical director of the Mendocino Coastal Clinics, specializing in HIV.

For many years, he considered his teaching days as a wasted decade. But the rise of his old pupil has given him fresh perspective. Though unwilling to take credit for the president’s path in life, Lawrence remembers that he used to advise students to get their first taste of experience through community organization—Obama’s political starting ground.

Obama actually speaks the words “gay” and “lesbian,” in itself a turning point for the national conversation, and has asked Congress to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Lawrence’s tone turns stern when he criticizes the president’s support of the Federal Family Protection Act and reticence on California’s Proposition 8, but livens again when he thinks about the future of gay rights.

Scratch the doctor’s surface, and the political scientist in Lawrence shines through. He says of Obama: “I think he’s been a little conservative on gay issues, but I’m sensitive to what kind of compromises he has to make.”

—Brandon Hamilton ’10

[proud American in Canada]

Right! In the “immortal” words of Lady Gaga...wasn’t he “born this way”?

[Brown Deer]

https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2012/05/01/does-this-obama-poem-sound-man-boy-gay-to-you/

[SaveFerris]

From the articles:

“Barack Obama is a liar and a fraud”.

How bow da.

[Brown Deer]

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2013/08/10/flashback-mom-of-murdered-obama-gay-lover-speaks-up/

[proud American in Canada]

Yes, and l believe there was another androgynous character named Chris. :)

[brucedickinson]

I never bought that “body-man Reggie Love” nonsense

[CaptainPhilFan]

I truly don’t care one jot if Barry is gay. The fact that he is a muslim-(sympathizer)/USA-hating/Freedom-hating/scheming/lying-sack-of-pig-excerement is why I find it hard to pray for him.

[heights]

No Straight men “Considers” being Gay, to a Straight Male other males are disgusting. If he “Considered’ it he is at the very least bi-sexual.

[stillfree?]

Before or after he ate a dog?

[matt1234]

What he ACTUALLY considered was whether to stay in the closet.

[paulk]

Close look at the hands — and this is the NYT

https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/recollections-of-obamas-ex-roommate/comment-page-2/?_r=0

[dynoman]

[dynoman]

[rdcbn]

Obama does not just consider gayness, he defines it.

[Kickass Conservative]

Does this mean that the “Born This Way” mantra isn’t true?

Paging Lady Gaga, paging Lady Gaga, please pickup the Pink Courtesy Phone.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

“No, we aren’t homosexual, but we are willing to learn.”

[ponygirl]

I was really, REALLY hoping that when he finally emerged from his “vacation,” that he would be totally transitioned ala Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. For a while there, it seemed quite plausible. I’m kind of disappointed, in fact. First president to cut off his peen. How historic!

[ponygirl]

LOL...my stereo was playing “Hey Yah!” and was at the “shake it sh-sh-shake it!” part when I scrolled past that gif...and it was perfectly in time! “Shake it like a polaroid picture...”

[Slyfox]