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.

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

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.”.

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

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.

HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE

“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. “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.

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.

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

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.

ALHOLISM THE GAY COMMUNY

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.

LGBT ADDICTN TREATMENT: GAY REHAB CENTER

”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.

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.