We are 19 months out from actually electing anyone and the presidential race is already looking like a six-wayRuPaul's Drag Race lip sync -- and that's just Democrat hopefuls. And though a few of them have popped their head above the fray from time to time, with distinct positions or funny anecdotes, an unlikely contender has stamped out a name for himself. Chasten Buttigieg for First Gentleman. First Gent? First Man? You know, the president's spouse!
In an era where we are considering the first gay president, we also must reckon with the idea of a first gay spouse. And as we haven't had a female president yet, if it's Pete Buttigieg that crosses the 2020 election finish line with the win, Chasten will not only be the first gay, but also first male first spouse. (Yeah, a lot of firsts there.) But what exactly do we know about him? Thanks to Twitter, quite a bit.
Like any true millennial, Chasten has been quite an avid user of Twitter, a platform he joined back in September 2015. And with all that time spent on the service, he's found the perfect balance of how to use it -- as a glimpse into his life (and thus Pete's) in a witty, irreverent, and accessible way. It's the same same thing that presidential spouses have been doing for years, now updated for the digital age.
Chasten and Pete married just last year. Before dating though, Chasten lived in Chicago (originally from Traverse City, Michigan) where he studied education at DePaul University and would go on to become a teacher. But a meeting on Hinge (yes guys, not Grindr or Scruff) brought the couple together, initially drinking beers over Facetime. "I wanted a platform where you're not necessarily inundated with hookup culture and sex," Chasten told the New York Times in a profile that celebrated their nuptials. Those online connections eventually materialized into the real thing when the pair met for a first date at the Four Winds baseball field, home of the minor league South Bend Cubs.
Outside of being a fan of his man -- and his man's platform -- Chasten is also an admirer of Harry Potter (both Buttigeg's are Hufflepuffs) and their dogs (he runs social accounts for them). He also live tweeted through Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance and enjoys a good Beyonce / Mariah Carey playlist. You know, a regular millennial gay!
And that's the thing about Chasten. He feels refreshing and new and novel, and in many ways he is. But he's also just a millennial. If he seems authentic in his tweets, it's mostly because he probably is -- gifs, social media, and meme culture weren't something he took a crash course as a pre-emptive measure to seem relatable. This is something he would have grown up with, which speaks to a relatability that any first spouse (First Lady, Gentleman, Gent, or Man) ends up finding to be their mandate.
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