Human Rights Watch released a seri of vios the group says shows that the beatg and abe of gays has bee wispread. One 17-year-old om Sochi who was btalized says Rsia's new anti-gay propaganda law has been taken as enuragement by anti-gay groups. Mark Phillips reports.
Contents:
- IN RSIA, VLENT VIOS SHOW A STARTLG NEW FORM OF GAY BULLYG
- CHECHNYA GAY PURGE: FOOTAGE TAKEN SI PRISON SHOWS WHERE MEN WERE 'TAED AND TORTURED'
- ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
- GAY MAN RSIA FORCED TO HIDG OVER YOUTUBE TERVIEW
- VIOS SHOW WISPREAD ABE OF GAYS RSIA, ADVOT SAY
- ADOPTED BOY SEXUALLY ABED BY GAY FATHERS
IN RSIA, VLENT VIOS SHOW A STARTLG NEW FORM OF GAY BULLYG
In a sign of risg and aggrsive homophobia, gay youths have been doed wh ure and threatened wh ax. * gay russian abused *
A screen shot om one of a seri of homophobic vios posted on the Inter appears to show a young Rsian gay man beg forced to drk ure. Other victims were known homosexuals who were forcibly picked up off the stated goal of the vios was to "cure" the young men of their activists say such footage is a sign that homophobia Rsia is not only beg more prevalent, but also more aggrsive. Campaigners blame this on a ntroversial new law outlawg so-lled "homosexual propaganda" that was passed unanimoly by the Rsian State Duma and signed to law by Print Vladimir Put last month.
CHECHNYA GAY PURGE: FOOTAGE TAKEN SI PRISON SHOWS WHERE MEN WERE 'TAED AND TORTURED'
Warn claims police wouldn't 'even want to alone beat' gay people * gay russian abused *
Nikolai Alekseyev, founr of Gay Pri Rsia, believ the law sends the wrong signals to society and the mds of some legimiz vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muni. "They have received signals om the hight officials the state -- the Duma, the print -- that basilly you n do whatever you want if ncerns gay people bee they are not first-class cizens; they are send-class or even third-class.
"Ined, groups like the one Kamensk-Uralsky -- which belongs to a Rsia-wi work operatg unr the banner "Occupy Pedophilia" -- have so far enjoyed almost total impuny for their treatment of homosexuals. But the group has sce expand s foc and is now targetg young homosexuals. Members of the group say they see homosexualy and pedophilia as morally Pedophilia was found by Maksim Martskevich, an ultranatnalist who has served a three-year prison sentence for cg ethnic hatred.
Degteryov has also passed rmatn about Occupy Pedophilia's harassment of gays -- cludg photos and vios -- to the Washgton D.
ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
A gay Rsian man is hidg after Rsian thori opened a crimal se over a YouTube vio which he was terviewed by children, a se that has drawn attentn om human-rights activists. * gay russian abused *
The graphic imag, which were posted on the popular webse and elsewhere, have turned gay rights Rsia to a e celebre the Uned Stat. Wrer Dan Savage, founr of the It Gets Better mpaign, which bats the bullyg of gay teens, has lled for a boytt of Rsian vodka. In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out.
GAY MAN RSIA FORCED TO HIDG OVER YOUTUBE TERVIEW
* gay russian abused *
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.
VIOS SHOW WISPREAD ABE OF GAYS RSIA, ADVOT SAY
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.
ADOPTED BOY SEXUALLY ABED BY GAY FATHERS
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. 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. Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.