How the Mob Helped Establish NYC’s Gay Bar Scene | HISTORY

Contents:

• GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT
• HI, GAY! - CANNED VODKA SODA BRAND CREATED BY AND FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY AIMS TO DTIGMATIZE THE WORD 'GAY', LNCH WH FOUR INIC FLAVORS
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• FABULO FIZZ: D2C HARD SELTZER BRAND GAY WATER COM OUT
• HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• ALHOLISM THE GAY COMMUNY
• LGBT ADDICTN TREATMENT: GAY REHAB CENTER

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

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. “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.”.

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

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. “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.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

“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. “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.

FABULO FIZZ: D2C HARD SELTZER BRAND GAY WATER COM OUT

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.

HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE

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. 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.

UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

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. Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat. Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people.

”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry. ”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn.

When I stepped to my first gay bar, I didn’t have to hi or erase sential parts of myself—very much unlike how I navigated the rt of the world. 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.

ALHOLISM THE GAY COMMUNY

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. CEO told Marketg, Gay Water is officially g out as a hard seltzer brand created by, and for, the queer muny, ially available through the brand’s D2C.

Hodson explaed the ia for the brand name emerged om the realizatn that the term “gay water” reference to vodka and soda was wispread enough that a straight,.

LGBT ADDICTN TREATMENT: GAY REHAB CENTER

AdvertisementadvertisementHard seltzer is a particularly crowd tegory, but addn to s brandg, Gay Water has a few other attribut to help stand apart. brand is available via retail, Hodson said Gay Water would engage s muny to shape s evolutn, htg that such feedback may lead to a stronger versn of the drk the future. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir suici.

Many also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry. The term LGBTQ+ enpass dividuals om a range of different sexual orientatns and preferenc, cludg those intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and other queer is also referred to as the gay muny or queer the morn world, the dividuals still face immense discrimatn and bigotry, often leadg to mental health issu and factors affectg the dividual’s well-beg n clu factors such as discrimatn the workplace, as well as relatnship difficulti and stgglg at school due to bullyg.

However, dividuals the gay muny general report higher rat of alhol and dg e general, as well as a high prevalence accs to mental health servic and stggl wh mental health issu such as panic attacks and prsn. ” The edian Bill Maher said on his show that by 2054, if we follow what he se as the current trajectory, “we will all be gay, ” addg that the rise the number of younger people intifyg as transgenr seemed spic. Bee of the fluence of Schorr put siarly Natnal Review: “To suggt that social suggtibily uld be playg a role the skyrocketg numbers of young girls’ exprsg their sire to bee mal, for example, is not of urse to say that gay and transgenr people would not exist whout the topics’ beg discsed the public square.