He went through a physical overhaul as well: a stunning weight loss a stylish new haircut well-fitting new clothes contact lenses. But friends say they've been seeing a softer side of him of late. The new Barney comes equipped with the same sharp mind and tart tongue. The old Barney, known for his intellectual approach to problems, was also famous for popping off in public (he once got in trouble for likening constituent services to "slopping the hogs"). And slowly, Barney Frank began to loosen up. As he kept on getting elected (he won a seat in Congress in 1980), the popular, irreverent Democrat had more and more reason to keep his personal life to himself.Ī few years ago, though - around the time his congressional seat became secure - he started telling friends he was gay. Then he won a seat in the Massachusetts legislature. Elective office, he believed, would elude him because of his sexual preference. Yet his private life - though he says he's never been ashamed of it - has been shrouded.Īs Boston Mayor Kevin White's top aide from 1968 to 1971, Frank thought he'd gone as high as he could go in government. He has, for the most part, lived his life consistently, the politics in sync with the life style as a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, he has always supported gay rights. Ideals are not often realized, however, and it has taken Frank decades of introspection to come to terms with his own complicated reality. "For people just to know - but that it wouldn't be a front-page story in The Boston Globe or the second story after the Celtics on the evening news. "The ideal would have been if I didn't have to say the words," said the Massachusetts congressman one recent day in his Longworth Building office. In a perfect world, Barney Frank would have preferred not to announce that he was gay.
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