Gay Men, We Have a Drkg Problem

Contents:

• HI, GAY! - CANNED VODKA SODA BRAND CREATED BY AND FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY AIMS TO DTIGMATIZE THE WORD 'GAY', LNCH WH FOUR INIC FLAVORS
• LIQUOR LAWS ONCE TARGETED GAY BARS. NOW, ONE STATE IS APOLOGIZG.
• GAY MEN, WE HAVE A DRKG PROBLEM
• FABULO FIZZ: D2C HARD SELTZER BRAND GAY WATER COM OUT
• IT’S HERE, IT’S QUEER: INTRODUCG GAY WATER, A LGBTQIA+ CANNED VODKA SODA BRAND AIMG TO DTIGMATIZE THE WORD GAY

HI, GAY! - CANNED VODKA SODA BRAND CREATED BY AND FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY AIMS TO DTIGMATIZE THE WORD 'GAY', LNCH WH FOUR INIC FLAVORS

Studi have shown that, when pared wh the general populatn, gay and bisexual men, lbian, and transgenr dividuals are more likely to:. Alhol and dg e among some gay and bisexual men n be a reactn to homophobia, discrimatn, or vlence they experienced due to their sexual orientatn and n ntribute to other mental health and physil problems. For some gay and bisexual men, alhol and illegal dg e, pecially methamphetam (meth), amyl nrat (poppers), and dgs ed to treat erectile dysfunctn (when a man has a hard time keepg an erectn durg sex), also ntribute to a higher chance of gettg HIV and other STDs.

1 In fact, studi show that people who self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual are approximately 2 tim as likely to have an addictn than straight peers and transgenr dividuals are close to 4 tim as likely. Rearch suggts that gay alhol treatment programs mt nsir important factors such as sexual objectifitn, the tersectnaly of multiple margalized inti—pecially the impacts of racism—and high occurrenc of mental health ndns.

While rearch has not drawn specific nclns about why gay women are so much more likely to mise or bee addicted to alhol than straight women, studi do show certa risk factors for alhol abe the muny. Studi dite that gay women experience certa mental health ncerns—many of which are associated wh a higher rate of substance mise—more often than straight women.

LIQUOR LAWS ONCE TARGETED GAY BARS. NOW, ONE STATE IS APOLOGIZG.

Gay men have been observed to mise alhol as a pg mechanism, as well as part of a pattern of risk-takg behavrs that may be related to addictn, trma, peer fluence, or mental health ndns. Dpe advancements both the unrstandg and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmted fectns, some people still stigmatize gay men based on the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

Gay men of lor are vulnerable to addnal systemic opprsn, which n be related to the homophobic beliefs about specific margalized muni or the crimalizatn of homosexualy. Transphobia n be an addnal layer of discrimatn and vlence that is not separate om homophobia, racism, and other forms of discrimatn. This is particularly ncerng when nsirg that a 2007-2017 Centers for Disease Control and Preventn (CDC) report showed that over 23% of lbian, gay, or bisexual high school stunts and almost 27% of stunts who were unsure of their sexualy had ed illic dgs, pared to jt over 12% of straight stunts.

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 MEN, WE HAVE A DRKG PROBLEM

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. 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. 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.

FABULO FIZZ: D2C HARD SELTZER BRAND GAY WATER COM OUT

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. But a review of data om the 2015 Natnal Survey on Dg Use and Health found that people who intified as lbian, gay, or bisexual were more likely to be current alhol ers or bge drkers the last month.

IT’S HERE, IT’S QUEER: INTRODUCG GAY WATER, A LGBTQIA+ CANNED VODKA SODA BRAND AIMG TO DTIGMATIZE THE WORD GAY

A participant opens a bottle wh champagne at the 40th Christopher Street Day gay pri march on July 28, 2018, Berl, Germany.

SuperGay’s master distiller veloped the brand’s recipe, which clus filterg the water through activated nut charal to purify the vodka. As of today, the brand Gay Water officially lnch to brg that phrase to the mastream as one of the first alholic beverag found and ground the LGBTQ+ muny.

At s earlit fn, "gay" means "happy, " yet over the years perceptn of the word shifted to negative as people began g as a pejorative label for people and actns. "There has been a distct lack of LGBTQ+ reprentatn the alhol dtry, but Gay Water aims to change this, " says Spencer Hodson, Founr and CEO of Gay Water.

Wh three simple gredients, only 80 lori and 4% ABV, gluten-ee and no sugar, Gay Water also aims to appeal to folks tryg to make healthier liftyle choic, but still want to enjoy alhol. Gay Water will lnch wh four rehg flavors: watermelon, lime, peach, and grapeu wh plans to expand to more product l the g Water sgle flavor packs will nta six 12oz ns for $18. About Gay WaterGay Water is not jt any nned vodka soda pany, but a queer missn-driven liftyle brand that aims to celebrate and empower the LGBTQIA+ muny.

We believe reclaimg the word 'gay' by makg visible every day - be at your lol bar, rtrant, liquor store, grocery store, and of urse, your own a pany, we are mted to creatg a safe and clive muny for everyone, cludg our employe, the non-profs we llaborate wh, and the vendors we work wh.

“When I was growg up and I was kd of figurg out my sexualy, all of a sudn I was undated wh alhol, ” Clark told NBC to Kentuckiana Pri, her home state’s largt gay pri celebratn, at 16 was Clark’s “LGBT puberty” moment, she said. Her next tone, iends said at the time, would be turng 21 and beg able to go to the gay quickly realized that alhol e — and, many s, pennce — were large parts of the LGBTQ social scene that she had been troduced to.

“It took until my mid- to late-20s to fally fd a group of black, queer women where I uld fally relax my shoulrs, and I really want to provi that for the muny, ” Clark Got Tea, which Clark hop will open later this year, will be among a new wave of queer, alhol-ee social spac and travelg events that have popped up over the last few years and serve as alternativ to gay bars.