Sexual Assault, Hypocrisy, and the GOP: The "Biblical" Sexual Ethic is Meaningless
Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler is accused of sexually assaulting his long-term threesome partner with his wife, Moms of Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler. Christian Republicans won't care.
Let’s be honest. Nobody is ever surprised by sexual scandals involving Republican figures. Maybe they’re secretly gay, perhaps they’re having an affair, maybe they’re paying for abortions, maybe they’re having illicit threesomes. All while forever claiming so-called Christian family values and promoting policies that restrict abortions and LGBTQ rights. Not only is it not surprising to anyone who isn’t a Republican, but Republicans themselves don’t even care anymore. That should have been obvious when Trump was elected despite many sexual scandals and demeaning behavior toward women. But it makes sense to me after what I was raised with. I’ve never, ever heard one of my Republican relatives refuse to vote for or support a conservative figure due to their inherent moral hypocrisy.
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Identity reigns supreme. They think, “Well, those guys are on OUR SIDE, so it doesn’t matter if they mess up. Everyone is a sinner!” They’d rather see men cheating on their wives in power as long as they promise to seal the border or make sure poor people don’t get any centralized welfare benefits. It’s almost not even worthwhile to point out the hypocrisy these days. No matter what they do, no matter how awful or vicious, Republicans will support each other and dependably rely upon the votes of their loyal Christian conservative constituents. It’s their greatest political power and their greatest moral weakness.
So, why am I bringing up the case of Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler and his Moms for Liberty co-founder wife, Bridget Ziegler, as Christian is accused of sexually assaulting (and perhaps raping) his long-term ménage à trois partner? C’mon, you know why.
I don’t even have to tell you how repugnant the Florida Republican Party is in particular. Maybe worse than Texas or Tennessee. Ron DeSantis has so much power and has harmed people in his state with COVID policies and single-handedly worsened Florida education — a sore spot for me, as I once lived in Tallahassee and attended high school in Florida. They’ve also destroyed any semblance of rights for trans people, especially children.
Meanwhile, Moms for Liberty, a group that profoundly affects education policy in red states by attempting to remove all Black history, Native American history, and the existence of LGBTQ people and books, continues to grow in power and at school boards across the country. It’s a powerful, concerted effort that the DNC (or any actual progressive organizations) has yet to replicate.
Meanwhile, Christian and Bridget Ziegler are having lurid sex lives entirely at odds with what they claim to believe. And, horrifyingly, their sexual values aren’t just hypocritical; they also allegedly ignore consent. Moms for Liberty and the Florida GOP specifically go out of their way to champion policies explicitly to harm marginalized people, underpaid teachers, and underfunded public schools. Meanwhile, most of these people don’t even have their kids in public schools — it’s homeschool or private school.
Got a polyamorous, non-monogamous, or deconstructing friend who can’t afford a subscription? Consider gifting them one this holiday season.
I live my life publicly. In my life, there’s warmth and REAL family values like togetherness, loyalty, community, and the fruits of the spirit. We support Christian values like serving the poor, fighting against injustice, accepting marginalized and hurting people into our lives, forgiveness, and liberation theology.
But I am constantly told that I’m a sinner. Forever and ever, I’m a source of shame and sadness for people in my family and a target for strangers online. They’ll vote for the most vile Republicans alive but are horrified when I say how much I love my partners in plural. My life is too lurid! I should keep it private! I should be ashamed of myself! I should follow God! Here’s a Bible verse you’ve read hundreds of times already! blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
Secrecy is the worst aspect of the Christian sexual ethic. Anyone doing anything other than married, heterosexual, monogamous sex has to keep it secret, even if they’re happy, even if they’re good people, is inclined to force themselves to keep it all a secret to avoid cultural shaming. People have proven over and over again how mandated secrecy creates a culture of sexual abuse, whether it comes from denominations like the IFB (I highly recommend the new documentary Let Us Prey) or from people who are too powerful and wealthy to face actual consequences of their behavior.
I hope the assaulted partner’s privacy is protected, but it’s unlikely. I hope she feels safe wherever she is, and I hope she can realize not only that she does not deserve what happened to her but also that she doesn’t deserve to be someone’s secret. Talk about the most unethical type of unicorn hunting.
I think for me, an openly polyamorous Christian with a family, I’m going to have to keep bringing this up again and again. More and more non-monogamy scandals of Republican politicians keep popping up. I find it incredibly frustrating in light of the hatred my family and I receive when we’re just casually living our lives.
Yes, I know that sexual assault happens among all people of all ideologies. I won’t stop talking about that, either. I just think that conservative Christian sex ethics have contributed so heavily to this kind of culture that dehumanizes women as sex objects while shaming them as harlots and whores for demanding any personal agency over their bodies and lives.
We really, really, gotta keep talking about it. Not because I think it will change any conservative voters’ minds (it won’t — if Tennessee keeps voting for Scott DesJarlais, absolutely nothing matters to voters) but because observers will see they don’t have to be trapped in conservative ideology. They’ll see that Republicans who preach one thing and practice another can be brought down. They’ll be able to reveal their own stories and sexualities and get healing and help.
Hopefully, when they know that there are plenty of sexual assault survivors who still love God and plenty of LGBTQ Christians out there who never had to choose between their faith and their identities, they’ll realize that they can escape the communities and people who would abuse them and call them sinners.