Not if you are a republican congressman whose famously come out as anti-homosexual.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2019/04/former-anti-gay-gop-rep-... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Craig_scandal

There is a large amount of stigma associated with homosexuality. You are incorrectly assuming that the rest of the population has the same world view as you do. For example, being outwardly homosexual is a great way to lose the muslim vote - a sizeable portion of the Canadian population.

Blackmail isn't just about embarrassment in public. It's more commonly about embarrassment in front of someone in particular.

There are some places in the U.S. where it's still a big deal, parts of Utah come to mind as places where I know people have been mistreated routinely, and in some cases, been in serious danger.

And of course there are individuals who would rather not make that preference public because they have business elsewhere. If you had intended to do business in the middle east, it is a real material loss to be outed, or to be selectively/privately outed with just the right people to make your life difficult.

Of course, activists tend to choose the most useless and counterproductive ways to promote safety and tolerance for homosexuals, so something tells me things will tend to get worse when they could've gotten better. You could expect things to get worse, especially as the zoomers are exposed to these activists rather than to the truth.

Not the best journalism, but a good overview: http://www.newnownext.com/19-republican-politicians-gay-sex/...

Seems like a big scandal happens every few years. This is career-ruining if you’ve built your career on hypocrisy and self-hate, as at least a handful of politicians have.

Not if you have 4 kids, are an "upstanding community member" etc etc etc. Not all outings are the same....

Is there no stigma around being promiscuous, or taking part in risky sexual practices?

It's not just about "being gay". There are also private photos and private chats, as well as full location history.

Any information that someone is afraid of becoming exposed about them to someone else - the public, their religious organization, their employer, their family is good for blackmail.

If Trump was caught paying of Ron Jeremy instead of Stormy Daniels wouldn't he loose more popularity?

Though Grindr is also a treasure trove of dick pics!