'We're not hidg': Gay and lbian Rsians say a cultural shift is unrway

Contents:

• ROMANIAN ORTHODOX 'PRITS' STRIP OFF FOR GAY LENDAR THEY SAY WILL BRG 'HOPE, JOY AND FORT'
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• 'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY

ROMANIAN ORTHODOX 'PRITS' STRIP OFF FOR GAY LENDAR THEY SAY WILL BRG 'HOPE, JOY AND FORT'

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. 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.

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

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. Romanian Orthodox 2014 lendar creators say pays tribute to gay marriageShots clu nu mols readg bible and posg on bed clutchg some rosary beads Updated: 07:53 BST, 8 January 2014 Advertisement A new lendar created by Romanian Orthodox Christians featurg mcular male mols steamy pos has been men behd the Romanian Orthodox 2014 lendar say pays tribute to gay marriage, which, they say, 'is the news all around the world and very timely'. The mols are gay-iendly members 'of the Orthodox Church' who have chosen to strip down for the sexy shoot 'bee they believe - like - eedom of speech, tolerance, equaly and human rights.

'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY

The men behd the Romanian Orthodox 2014 lendar say pays tribute to gay marriage, which, they say, 'is the news all around the world and very timely' 'A great gift for people who like illtratns, artwork, artistic photography, and ntroversial art their r, ' say the makers of the lendar The creative group was tablished 2012 and is the brachild of a group posed mostly of Orthodox eastern Europeans of the former munist regn Wrg on their webse they say their primary goal is to 'monstrate that Orthodox believers do not all f the backward, hibound stereotype portrayed the prs but rather are regular people wh passns, preferenc, terts and sir. 'At the same time, the lendar tak an ironic approach to the Orthodox Church self, which recent years has baeen embroiled rptn sndals, artist reprsn, gay sex ver-ups, outrageo behavr and homophobia, ' they add. Wh bold lors, homoerotic unrton, OC’s artwork has drawn parisons to Amerin photographer David LaChapelle and French artists Pierre & ssns and stg took place the predomantly Orthodox area of Eastern Europe.

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.