This was always going to be divisive given the current climate. An Idaho bar is garnering backlash for hosting a Heterosexual Awesomeness Month. The bar is holding the celebration during June, which nationally is Pride Month.
"Come join us all month to celebrate heterosexuals, for without them, none of us would be here!" Old State Saloon in the city of Eagle wrote in a Facebook post. The bar is hosting several special for heterosexual or straight members. On Mondays, the bar is holding "Hetero Male Monday." It's giving free draft beer to "any heterosexual male dressed like a heterosexual male." The bar is hiring a judge at $15 an hour "to determine if men's chosen clothing is officially heterosexual."
Wednesdays will see "each heterosexual couple" receive 15% off their bill. Thursdays are "Her Hetero Happy Hour" with happy hour prices for straight women. As you can imagine, the move drew a lot of attention, which was probably the point. It drew plenty of critics. One wrote, "This is horribly disappointing. I can handle differing political views. I CANNOT handle bigotry and hate towards marginalized communities."
Idaho Bar Celebrates "Heterosexual Awesomeness Month"
Another wrote, "Imagine being this insecure." However some thought it was great, supporting the idea. One wrote, "This is absolutely fantastic!" Another wrote, "Thank you for taking a stand for the rest of the community who has been too scared to do the right thing." Yet another wrote, "I love that you have the balls to do a Hetero Male Monday party."
It garnered so much attention that the Idaho bar had to make a follow-up clarifying it's stance. It wrote, "1) We love our LGBTQ+ patrons! 2) We will not be changing our mind and give into the group of those who are responding with vitriol. 3) ALL are welcome to come celebrate heterosexuality with us in June!"
However critics asked where the LGBTQ+ offerings were for patrons who don't identify as straight. The bar wrote, "We love our Black patrons too. We love our White patrons. We love our patrons who work for USPS. But we aren't doing special nights for those people. Nor are we doing special nights for LGBTQ+."
"We are choosing to celebrate heterosexuals. We should be able to do that without so many people being so nasty to us, lying about us, canceling us, attacking our business, and/or trying to get us to make something about themselves," it continued. "If you want us to change who we are celebrating, get over it. It's not happening. Hooray for heterosexuals!"
