Was Jeffrey Dahmer gay? This question is often asked about Jeffrey Dahmer, but it is something that few people often speak about. It is hard to find good information on it, and this is because the media does not want to speak about it.
Jeffrey Dahmer was gay, though people overlook this when speaking about him. Jeffrey Dahmer was a serial killer who operated from 1978 – 1991, targeting gay men of color as his victims. Acute loneliness and internalized homophobia drove Jeffrey Dahmer to take the lives of 17 young men.
Was Jeffrey Dahmer Gay?
A question that pops up frequently when discussing Jeffrey Dahmer and his crimes is, “Was Jeffrey Dahmer gay?” Some people ignore his sexuality because of homophobic arguments. Others do not know Jeffrey Dahmer was gay. And others wish to sweep his sexuality under the rug and not focus on it. Jeffrey Dahmer was gay, and he was a serial killer, but the two things are not tied into one another.
Jeffrey Dahmer did not become a serial killer because he was gay but rather because of a deeply rooted sense of internal homophobia. This deep internalized hatred of himself, combined with acute loneliness and poor mental health, led him to become a serial killer. Gay people are neither dangerous nor more likely to become serial killers and should never be used as an argument against them.
Jeffrey Dahmer Hated Himself For His Sexuality
As mentioned above, Jeffrey Dahmer hated himself for being gay. He was raised in a conservative, Christian household that viewed gays as evil and vile. Growing up in such an environment caused long-term psychological trauma and caused Dahmer to internalize his sexuality. He did not get the chance to explore his sexuality or create healthy relationships growing up healthily.
As he grew older, the internalized homophobia only got worse, leading Dahmer to fall into the clutches of alcohol. He became an alcoholic to deal with the mental anguish that came from his internalized homophobia, but it did little to help. His drinking problem led to school problems and later got him kicked out of the military. One can only wonder whether Dahmer may never have committed his crimes if he had been raised in a gay-positive home.
“In the township where I was at, homosexuality was the ultimate taboo. It was never discussed, never. I had desires to be with someone, but never met anyone that was gay, that I know of; so that was sexually frustrating.”
Jeffrey Dahmer
How Jeffrey Dahmer’s Murders Affected Milwaukee’s Gay Community
While Jeffrey Dahmer committed horrendous crimes against the gay and African-American communities, some good was born from his deeds. The gay community started to use their real names instead of nicknames when frequenting the clubs and bars. This helped remove some of the dangers present during Dahmer’s time. People no longer tried hiding as much, which led to people noticing each other, helping to cut back on long unnoticed disappearances.
“Being able to be your true self every day kind of eradicates some of these dangerous situations that people put themselves in just to find acceptance, just to find a community, and just to find a sense of caring and love.”
Michail Takach
Activism in the Milwaukee gay community also became much more prominent. Activists worked with both the Milwaukee Police department and the African-American community to help promote a safe and loving environment. The Milwaukee Police Department underwent sensitivity training, so they were better equipped to protect the African-American and gay communities. All of this has helped create a safer world for everyone, regardless of their sexuality and color.
Jeffrey Dahmer Targeted Gay Men of Color As Victims
Unlike many serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer targeted people not of his ethnic origin. Though he was Caucasian, Dahmer targeted young men of color, who were gay, to be his victims. While this is unusual, it is not unheard of, but it would lead to Dahmer murdering more young men than he should have. By targeting men of color in the Milwaukee area, his victims went unnoticed by the police. The police did not have the manpower or will to hunt him down until 17 lives were lost.
He did not kill men of color, though, simply because they were less likely to be noticed and because of hatred towards them. Once again, one can point towards his conservative family and the township he grew up in as reasons for why he became a killer. Not only did he internalize homophobia, but he developed a feeling of racism towards those of the African-American community.
Jeffrey Dahmer is a perfect example of when nurture becomes the leading force in developing a serial killer. The Milwaukee Cannibal was created because of his family and township. It was not his sexuality. It was not his inability to create true relationships. It was the old generational conservative, Christian mindset of the family and township he grew up in.
How Jeffrey Dahmer’s Sexuality Helped Him Murder His Victims
While Jeffrey Dahmer’s choice to target men of color helped him murder, his sexuality did the same thing. In an interview with Bubbler Talk, Michael Takach said, “You essentially have a community that grew up being told that they really had no right to exist. You had a community who only knew each other out of a sense of shame, out of a sense of disenfranchisement, out of a sense of being cast away.”
There was no love towards the gay community back in those days, and police were not trained adequately to help and protect the gay community. This made it easy for Jeffrey Dahmer to target gay men of color, take them home, murder them, and have no real questions asked. The gay community in Milwaukee was used to people coming and going, being there one day, and being gone the next.
“If only the police had listened to me. I did what you’re supposed to do – help someone when they’re in trouble. Konerak clearly was. I was devastated by what happened to him. He had managed to escape. I was angry with the police. I felt like I failed.”
Nicole childress
This is further seen when two police officers returned the bloody, handcuffed Konerak Sinthasomphone to Jeffrey Dahmer. Two cousins called the police when they found the boy and tried to keep Dahmer from getting his hands back on the boy. The police officers did not listen and returned the boy to Dahmer. Dahmer proceeded to murder Konerak shortly afterward, showing that the police did not truly care about his safety as a gay man of color.
Jeffrey Dahmer Was Praised As A Homophobe
In a twist of events, after Dahmer’s arrest, homophobes praised the horrible deeds he committed against the gay and African-American communities. They saw him as doing righteous work, killing those that did not deserve to live simply because they were different from others. Many of them were conservative Christians who had the homophobic mindset ingrained within them, and they thought he was right.
It is unclear if they knew he was gay or not or if they did not care. Either way, they removed his sexuality from him and turned him into nothing more than a homophobic idol of sorts. While he was a disgusting human being, the killing of those gay men of color should be a message that homophobia needs to stop. When internalized, it can create more like Jeffrey Dahmer with the right fuse.