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.
Contents:
- GAY MAN RSIA FORCED TO HIDG OVER YOUTUBE TERVIEW
- ANTI-GAY VIRAL VIO STIRS OUTRAGE AHEAD OF RSIAN REFERENDUM
- RSIA TO GAYS: SHUT UP AND DISAPPEAR
GAY MAN RSIA FORCED TO HIDG OVER YOUTUBE TERVIEW
In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out. 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. 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.
ANTI-GAY VIRAL VIO STIRS OUTRAGE AHEAD OF RSIAN REFERENDUM
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.
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.
RSIA TO GAYS: SHUT UP AND DISAPPEAR
It is important to note that the same-sex soc-sexual behavr observed the study is distct om homosexual behavr bee s motivatn and purpose are social, said Jean-Baptiste Le, who studi primate behavr at the Universy of Lethbridge Canada and was not volved the new rearch. To be classified as te homosexual behavr, the form, motivatn and functn would all have to be sexual nature, he said. ”The ban marks the latt phase a rollback of rights for gay and transgenr people Rsia.
Chechen lear: 'We don't have any gays'.
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. Maxim Pankratov told CNN he was facg threats and a potentially lengthy prison sentence for appearg the vio discsg his life as an openly gay man Rsia. The vio, origally posted on the Rsian-language “Real Talk” YouTube channel, featured four children terviewg Pankratov, 22, about his life and his inty as a gay man.