The Beatrice Interview


Candace Gingrich

A Forceful Speaker in Her Own Right


interviewed by Ron Hogan



P L A N E T O U T

One of the things that isn't immediately apparent about Candace Gingrich's status as the lesbian half-sister of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the great void between them. Newt's old enough to be Candace's father -- in fact, he'd already married and had one daughter by the time she was born -- and was never more than an occasional presence in her life. In her memoir, The Accidental Activist, she describes how the distance between them allowed her to grow up, come out of the closet, and settle into a fairly anonymous life without any significant awareness of Newt's political philosophy until the 1994 Republican landslide made his antigay rhetoric impossible to ignore. After press reports made her lesbianism a matter of public record, she began to realize that she had a unique opportunity to speak out against his policies, and she eventually became the spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project, beginning an affiliation which continues to the present. While her half-brother spent much of 1996 struggling to maintain his standing in the GOP and the House, Gingrich was fulfilling her duties as Spokesperson for the HRC's voter mobilization project, and took part in National Coming Out Day for the second year in a row. It's a tremendous change from her life in Pennsylvania, but as she explained over coffee in San Francisco, "I don't feel any different about myself -- except that I feel better."

RH: Tell me about how you decided to do this book.

CG: It was a process. One of the criticisms I'm very aware of is that I'm capitalizing on my brother's fame. Initially, I felt that I couldn't write a book, because people would say that I was just trying to make a buck. But my colleagues and peers, as well as people that I met on the road, began telling me that I should write a book because not everybody can go to a town hall meeting or see me on TV, and I finally realized that they were right.

RH: How did you feel about doing the research and interviews?

CG: In all honesty, I was able to cheat a little bit, in that my co-writer Chris Bull had just completed Perf ect Enemies with John Gallagher, so he had a lot of background information. I would express a feeling about something, and he'd respond, "I have documentation for that." But it was still very cathartic, although distressing, to go through the material and find that my brother had said and felt things that were an affront to me after he'd been informed that I was a lesbian, things I'd never known before because I hadn't bothered to pay attention. That was a huge wake-up call, but it came with the realization that he's not the only one taking those positions.

RH: One of the things that interested me as soon as I started reading is the success you had in ignoring Newt's policies for so long.

CG: Looking back, I think that if in 1987, Newt had said something to mom about me besides, "It's her life, she has a right to live it the way she wants to," something like, "Love the sinner, hate the sin," maybe I would have felt the need to talk to him or do some research about his beliefs. But I didn't feel the need. I had no desire to become politically aware then.

RH: Ignoring the personal aspects of your political awakening for a moment, do you see other members of our generation becoming similarly active?

CG: I do. Obviously, my data is skewed, because when I go to meetings or rallies, I generally get a crowd that's already active or inclined to be active. But when I speak at colleges or high schools, I see people even younger than we are realizing that something needs to be done and they can do it. That's very encouraging to me.

RH: You seem to have kept in touch with your working-class background instead of becoming a 'celebrity,' but it's clear that the last year has changed your life significantly.

CG: I don't have anything but good thoughts about the circumstances of my life. I'm not sure if I'd have been able to live with myself knowing that I could have done something to make a change and then not doing it. It's changed my lifestyle -- and I mean that in the real sense of the word 'lifestyle' -- but I've matured with it.

RH: And through your activism, you've become pretty good friends with Chastity Bono.

CG: It's been very cool for both of us to have each other to talk to about having a prominent right-wing relative that you have to deal with. Her relationship's a lot more intimate, because she knows her father a lot more than I know my brother, but it's still very helpful to share our experiences.

RH: What are some of the other positive consequences of your new fame?

CG: There are bonuses -- getting to meet certain people, getting to be in certain places at the right time and experiencing history -- but to me it's still about the feedback and the interactions with the people out there. At an event recently, during the question and answer period I was asked, "Where do you get your energy from?" Most of it comes from people who come up to me and tell me that I'm doing a great job or that they appreciate what I'm doing. If people were criticizing me at every turn, or if I weren't getting any feedback at all, it would be a lot harder for me.

BEATRICE Suggested further reading
Torie Osborn | Kate Bornstein

All materials copyright © 1996 Ron Hogan