Meg Griffin Comes Out As Pansexual

Note: I know Meg decided she wasn't really a lesbian in "Brian Sings and Swings", but she has shown attraction to women in other episodes, like with Connie D'Amico in "Dial Meg for Murderer". And as for the episode where she's seen as a man in the future - "Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure" - I'm chalking that up to the negative continuity the show is so famous for. So I'm saying in my opinion she later realizes she is attracted to women (and people of any sex and gender identity) but is still a woman herself, making her a pansexual woman.

Many were surprised that Meg Griffin had not changed her last name, especially when she began to run for office. They asked, did she really want to be known by the name of the family that had abused her in almost every possible way? But in going public about her abuse, Meg felt, she could let others know there was life after such horrors. She wanted to be known as a Griffin, not because she was proud of her parents, but so that she could show others that they could be from an equally terrible family and still succeed. And so, she was known as Congresswoman Griffin, Governor Griffin, and, eventually, President Griffin.

She was not, however, known as pansexual. Becoming only the second female president in United States history was difficult enough, she and her campaign staff had felt, without answering the speculation about her sex life. The fact that she had a boyfriend instead of a husband, as the first female president had had, meant there was plenty of speculation, but she stuck strictly to talk about politics and let the gossip mind itself.

Then Jeff broke up with her. It wasn't a big, tearful scene, just a recognition that they were no longer right for each other. There were no official duties to trouble him as First Gentleman, as everyone had suddenly seen with the election of the first First Gentleman how unfair it was to ask someone to give up their career and do different, unpaid work just because they happened to be married to the President, but as for Jeff the whole business of being in the spotlight had come to be too much for him. She understood.

But would the public understand her new romance with Molly? It had to be addressed, as they were becoming rather serious, and Molly couldn't be hidden from the press much longer. Meg's speechwriters had urged her to come out as bisexual, but not only was that dishonest (according to the common definition of bisexual as being attracted only to men and women, though there is another definition of bisexual as being attracted to people of any sex and gender identity, which is also the meaning of pansexuality) it left open the possibility of being disproven should she ever fall for someone genderqueer. After all, who was to say this romance with Molly would run its course any better than the one with Jeff had?

Eventually, then, she had persuaded her speechwriters to use the word pansexual. They had all been quite happy with the speech, but she only wished she could be certain of the public's reaction. She took a deep breath and stepped to the podium, and the cameras turned on. Live TV.

"My fellow Americans", President Meg Griffin began. "I know you have many questions about my life. I will not say they are not your business. I think it is fair enough for a people to have a curiosity about the lives of their rulers. And certainly, when a President answers such questions, the answers should be comprehensive and truthful.

"As for myself personally, the fact simply is that I am pansexual. In case you haven't heard of that word, it simply means that I am attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity – that is, I am attracted to some men, some women, and some people of every other gender. I know this may come as a surprise, even as a shock, to some of you, and I do not blame you for that. To others of you, who are pansexuals yourselves, I cannot claim to represent all of you. No one pansexual person could, or should be expected to. What I do pledge to do, is to conduct my love life with dignity and respect for my partner, Molly, for any future partners I may have, and for the importance of consent. And to always be proud of my pansexuality and of how far pansexuals and the entire queer community have come – even as far as the presidency. I thank you for listening."

Though the polls later said the speech had been the right thing to do, and she was relieved for the sake of her career, it was not the polls she was later happiest to look back on, but the messages from those who had been inspired to come out, or to carry on, by her example.