Barack Obama Shares The Importance Of Gay Visibility For Raising Better Men

Former President Barack Obama offered heartfelt insight into why queer individuals play a vital role in shaping emotionally intelligent men this week.

His words came during a guest appearance on IMO, the podcast hosted by his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and her brother.

Barack Obama Shares Why Queer Connections Are Important to Raising Better Men

The July 16 episode of IMO focused on thE topic of how to raise “emotionally intelligent, competent men” in a society grappling with what many are calling a male loneliness epidemic.

Barack Obama had a candid discussion with his wife and her brother, reflecting on his personal experiences about the value of diverse relationships and role models.

In particular he spoke about the value of queer visibility for helping shape well rounded young men and told of openly gay men that he remembered in his life.

Among those formative figures was an openly gay professor he met in college, a relationship that left a lasting impact on him. He reflected on the professor being out in a time when many were still in the closet, not feeling safe to live freely.

“[He] became one of my favourite professors and was a great guy, and would call me out when I started saying stuff that was ignorant,” he said.

“You need that! To show empathy and kindness.”

His presence in Barack’s life challenged stereotypes and broadened the future president’s emotional worldview, helping shape him to be the man he became.

Obama noted on the podcast, men need a “range of different role models, ” when speaking to the power of queer visibility and spoke to the importance of people diversifying their friendship groups to include the LGBTQIA+ community.

“You need that person in your friend group so that if you then have a boy who is gay or nonbinary, or what have you, they have somebody that they can go, ‘Okay, I’m not alone in this,’” he said.

“That, I think, is creating community. I know it’s corny, but it’s what they need.”

Obama’s connection to the LGBTQIA+ community is longstanding and significant. In 2015, he made history by becoming the first U.S. president to appear on the cover of an LGBTQ+ publication, Out magazine.

Speaking in that interview, he reflected on the same professor, calling him “the first openly gay person he ever met.”

Also reflecting on one of the landmark civil rights moments during his presidency, the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges Obama expressed not just support but deep pride.

“I wasn’t surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision, but, like millions of Americans, I was proud and happy that it came down the way it did — and I was honoured to stand in the Rose Garden and reiterate for every American that we are strongest, that we are most free, when all of us are treated equally. I was proud to say that love is love.”

You can watch the full episode with Barack Obama on Youtube below.