LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days ftival

Contents:

• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• WHAT DAYS ARE GAY DAYS AT DISNEY WORLD? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT THE RED SHIRT TRADN.
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• WHY ARE LGBTQ+ PEOPLE HEADG TO ORLANDO THIS WEEKEND? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT GAY DAYS
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• ‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out.

In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that. “The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them,” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer.

Gay Water, however, is out and proud. The nned cktail is named after a lloquialism given to the popular mixed drk (vodka and soda) orred at bars by the gay muny. “Puttg a product wh the word gay the tle is reprentatn self,” which he hop reclaims the word om the negativy ’s sometim associated wh.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

He thought of creatg Gay Water about a year ago while on a vatn wh his iend that had got a job wh the beverage dtry.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

The two chatted about the limed amount of gay people wh , and wh Hodson burnt out om his tradnal day job tech, started the nned cktail.

Hodson built up a strong social media followg on TikTok and Instagram durg Covid-19 and is g some of the money om that (as well as om iends and fay) to help fund Gay Water. “Gay is an umbrella term and the ia behd the brand is to be as clive as possible, which means we want alli, we want straight people to be part of this muny we’re buildg.”. For now, Gay Water is sold largely onle (wh a few retailers) and four sugar-ee flavors — watermelon, lime, peach and grapeu — at lnch.

WHAT DAYS ARE GAY DAYS AT DISNEY WORLD? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT THE RED SHIRT TRADN.

Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails,” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN. “There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns,” Roth said. Of urse, other drks e the word “gay,” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

Lol NewsMIAMI – The diplomatic ti between the Uned Stat and Jamai uld soon be jeopardy.There are reports that Jamai is refg to accred the spoe of a gay Amerin diplomat.“Our culture is not really acceptg of ,” said Renae Stevens, who was visg the Jamain nsulate Miami Wednday.Attorney Wayne Goldg is an advisor to Jamai’s ernment.“The whole ia of legislatn to legalize same-sex marriag, I thk they still have a long way to go,” he said.

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. The advisory lists many of the velopments that have ma Florida ls safe beyond the var anti-LGBTQ+ laws that have been enacted, such as laws rtrictg abortn rights and reproductive tn, and the elimatn of Ain-Amerin studi, as well as an crease of homophobic and racial harassment and vlence.

WHY ARE LGBTQ+ PEOPLE HEADG TO ORLANDO THIS WEEKEND? EVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT GAY DAYS

In orr to get hard data on how DeSantis’ culture war is impactg LGBTQ+ fai Florida, rearchers at UCLA’s Whe Instute nducted a survey to measure the rponse of LGBTQ+ fai to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The report was released last January, and don’t reflect rponse to the latt round of anti-LGBTQ+ laws to e out of Tallahassee — cludg expandg the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to ver all school gras K-12. Acrdg to the survey, “9 out of 10 (88%) LGBTQ parents are very or somewhat ncerned about the impact that HB 1557 [the “Don’t Say Gay” bill] will have on them and their children, wh one four reportg they have experienced anti-LGBTQ+ harassment sce the law was passed and one five reportg beg ls out their muni sce the law was passed.

ORLANDO — Tens of thoands of LGBTQ+ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov.

Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have champned a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws — spurrg the most proment gay rights group the U.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs that the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida’s largt gay and lbian say a large turnout will send a msage that LGBTQ+ people aren’t gog away Florida, which is ntually one of the most popular stat for tourists to vis. If the hoped-for 150, 000 or more visors e to the half-week of pool parti, drag bgo and thrill ris at Orlando’s theme parks and hotels, then “that’s the pot, ” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc.

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

Gay Days is a bon ’s not lost on the anizers that the highlight of the weekend will be a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ+ visors at the Magic Kgdom at Walt Disney World, where the first Gay Days started as a sgle-day celebratn 1991. Currently Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers’ takeover of Disney World’s erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay. “It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn the anizers of Gay Days and their supporters say that Orlando is as gay-iendly a cy as they e, earng a perfect sre on the Human Rights Campaign x, which measur how clive ci are of LGBTQ+ rints and visors.

‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS

“We live a bubble here Orlando, where even wh the chaos Florida, we feel safe here, ” said Jeremy Williams, edor--chief of Watermark Publishg Group Inc., a Florida-based media pany that is one of the sponsors of Gay Days has survived past challeng, cludg the early years when Disney posted signs at the Magic Kgdom’s entrance warng visors there was a large gatherg of gays and lbians and offerg pass to other parks for guts who might be offend.

Over the last three s, though, the theme parks and rorts have thrown down the wele mats as Gay Days has bee a profable bounce between the sprg break and out-of-school summer crowds. Durg Gay Days the 1990s, hundreds of anti-abortn activists wh Operatn Rcue protted outsi Walt Disney World, and the Southern Baptist Conventn ced the gatherg llg for a boytt of all thgs Disney.

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the Clark, the CEO of the Gay Days bs, had his wish, DeSantis would accept an open vatn to see one of the drag shows durg this year’s ftivi.