How to Cope When You're Gay and Lonely | GQ

Contents:

• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT
• AM I GAY?
• WHO IS JOSEPH ZIEGLER, THE GAY IRS WHISTLEBLOWER HUNTER BIN PROBE?
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR
• CHARL BARKLEY FENDS LGBTQIA+ MUNY, BUD LIGHT EXPLETIVE-FILLED RANT: ‘IF YOU’RE GAY, GOD BLS YOU’
• 34 OF THE BT RPONS WHEN SOMEONE ASSUM AND CALLS YOU GAY
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND
• HOW TO COPE WHEN YOUR SPOE COM OUT AS GAY
• HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY
• WISNS MIDDLE SCHOOL FEATUR 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' LIBRARY, STIRRG ONLE OUTRAGE
• I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN
• 17 SIGNS YOU'RE ACTUALLY GAY (AND JT DON'T KNOW IT)
• MISS MANNERS: NOSY WOMEN AT RETIREMENT MUNY ASK RINT ‘ARE YOU GAY?’ DURG DNER

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual. Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player league history to announce that he is gay 2021. Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league, ” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league.

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, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT

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. 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.

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.

AM I GAY?

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.

WHO IS JOSEPH ZIEGLER, THE GAY IRS WHISTLEBLOWER HUNTER BIN PROBE?

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.

Gay - While this adjective has historilly scribed men who are attracted to other men, the term now is ed to refer to anyone who experienc romantic, emotnal, or physil attractn to people of the same genr.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

Sce genr inty and sexual orientatn are separate, transgenr people n intify as straight, gay, lbian, bisexual, etc. Some Republins once said Joseph Ziegler, the Internal Revenue Service agent who ttified before Congrs Wednday about possible terference the vtigatn of Hunter Bin, was biased Bin’s favor bee he’s a gay man and a Democrat.

“People have said, bee I’m gay and that I am workg as the se agent on this vtigatn, that I mt be a far-left liberal, perfectly placed to f some agenda.

The report clud a photo of Joseph Ziegler and his hband, Newsweek not, pl the assertn that the hband was nnected “at least socially” to Demetre Daskalakis, a gay physician who has worked the New York Cy health partment and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventn, and later was appoted by Joe Bin as puty ordator of the rponse to the mpox outbreak. Keep md that experienc of sexual aroal are extremely nuanced, and aren’t ncrete proof that you’re gay.

REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR

If you tend to velop csh on people who are the same genr as you, uld be a sign that you’re gay.

CHARL BARKLEY FENDS LGBTQIA+ MUNY, BUD LIGHT EXPLETIVE-FILLED RANT: ‘IF YOU’RE GAY, GOD BLS YOU’

You may be gay, but you uld also be pansexual or bisexual if you sometim thk about the other genr. Keep md that even if you have a sexual experience wh someone of the same genr or another genr, that don’t necsarily mean that you’re gay.

34 OF THE BT RPONS WHEN SOMEONE ASSUM AND CALLS YOU GAY

Thgs would be so simple if you uld jt label yourself as gay and be done wh , but may not be that easy.

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

That means, for example, that you n be transgenr but also straight (for stance, you might intify as a woman and feel attracted to men) or gay (e. Article SummaryXIf you’re not sure how to know if you are gay, thk about any past romantic experienc you have had. If you have had romantic experienc or fantasi volvg people who are the same genr as you, then there is a good chance you are gay or bisexual, but 's okay if you're a ltle nfed.

The Oklahoma Cy Thunr roster shnk on Wednday when they waived veteran forward Rudy Gay, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. However, there are still many rotten eggs who throw around slurs and ll people gay mdlsly, so helps to know what to say when someone lls you gay.

Of urse, there’s nothg wrong wh beg gay, but people don’t always put a lot of thought to what to say. Even when someone knows you’re straight, ignorance will empower them to e “gay” to liberately try to hurt you.

IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND

The bt way to rpond to this is by clarifyg that there’s nothg wrong wh beg gay, even though you’re straight.

It says that even if you were gay, you wouldn’t be lookg the person’s way bee you have higher standards than someone who looks/drs as he/she do, and is actively homophobic.

HOW TO COPE WHEN YOUR SPOE COM OUT AS GAY

This is a good example of what to say when someone lls you gay bee llg someone gay isn’t an sult. Gay also means happy, so e this example of what to say when someone lls you gay to flip thgs around on a posive note. Some people associate certa mannerisms or behavr wh beg gay, as well as certa aspects of one’s behavr.

Ignorance isn’t always malic, and there will be people who assume you’re gay wh no ill tent md. 22“I’m gog to assume that you didn’t mean that is wrong to be gay, but for future reference, keep those thoughts to yourself.

HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY

Use this example of what to say when someone lls you gay to show your support for the gay muny.

WISNS MIDDLE SCHOOL FEATUR 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' LIBRARY, STIRRG ONLE OUTRAGE

It also says you don’t re enough about the person’s perceptn of gay people to go out of your way to clarify whether you’re straight or not. It says that people should te themselv on proper etiquette regardg the gay muny, and how certa stereotyp n be damagg or hurtful.

The gay muny experienc discrimatn at every level, and even as you read this, someone, somewhere, is beg lled a gay slur. When certa people disver you’re gay, that’s all they will see you as, and they will show their lack of rpect and acceptance by llg you “gay” stead of your actual name. This is good to say when you’re unaffected, and you’ll be as gay as possible, regardls of their feelgs.

I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN

Wh that beg said, whenever you need , you n refer to the sets of exampl of what to say when someone lls you gay to stick up for yourself or ignore the nonsense.

Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected. Addrsg MPs, the prime mister said: "Many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment all while bravely servg this untry.

"The LGBT Veterans Inpennt Review, led by Bra's first openly gay judge Lord Etherton, began last year and heard about the experienc of 1, 145 veterans between 1967 to 2000. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc.

17 SIGNS YOU'RE ACTUALLY GAY (AND JT DON'T KNOW IT)

It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly. Carol Man, who was dismissed after tellg her boss she was gay 1978, kept her sexualy secret for another 30 years and said she had been "robbed" of her life. "Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy.

Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer". Sometim a woman may have been a heterosexual relatnship for years and yet feel somethg is somehow "off;" and she may fd herself askg, "Is my hband gay?

" Many women fd this qutn unthkable but acrdg to Bonnie Kaye,, an expert women married to gay men, is timated that 4 ln women have been, or are, married to gay men.

MISS MANNERS: NOSY WOMEN AT RETIREMENT MUNY ASK RINT ‘ARE YOU GAY?’ DURG DNER

Unfortunately, is timated that 50% of gay hbands hi their homosexualy om their wiv and don't reach this place of honty on their own.