In the midst of Barbie season, a social media influencer has released Gay Water, a new and fresh vodka soda beverage, the gayest beverage on the planet. As queers love their vodka, it made sense that the drink also is a vodka based beverage with four flavors – watermelon, lime, peach, and grapefruit.
The release of the product has been described by its founder Spencer Hoddenson as an antithesis to the controversy regarding the Bud Light beer. The controversy started when trans influencer and trans rights advocate Dylan Mulvaney did a brief digital advertisement for the beer brand Bud Light, and the advertisement quickly became the target for a hate campaign by the right wing and conservatives in the United States. The company’s response to the controversy wasn’t appreciated by the members of the queer community as it failed to address the anti-trans attack on Dylan and rather preached a dull message of unity.
In response, gay water aims to serve directly queer people and is in a way, a claim to the space. Since companies like Bud Light and other big corporations would never support queer people openly fearing the backlash from the larger society, it only makes sense that queer people take things into their own hands. Since queer people will consume these products anyway, why don’t they consume them from queer creators.
The ‘gay water’ as it has been termed has been received well by the community who have been asking about where they can buy it? Or when does bi water come out? Hoddenson also mentioned in one of posts that saw the release of the product, “the mission of gay water is to destigmatize the word “gay” by bringing representation to spaces that have not traditionally featured queer products, such as bars, liquor stores, grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and more. with this launch, we take the first step toward creating a more inclusive, colorful and joyous world. why? because gay literally means happy.”
While it might be a step in fighting back conservatives who make ridiculously claims about queer people, there needs to be an understanding regarding till what extent the politics has to be centered around consumerism. The specific point is where our politics answer back in a way that might or might not be shady but actually tackles the larger issue regarding perspectives about queer people. Or tackles the politics of hate, violence and bigotry which is materializing not only through such moral panic on a trans woman supporting a beer brand but also through a number of anti-trans legislations.
