A saloon in Idaho is drawing both jeers and cheers for its cheeky counter-programming to Pride Month, declaring June “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month,” billing it as a celebration of all things straight.
“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 announcing a month of festivities and drink specials.
Every Monday in June will be “Hetero Male Monday,” with a free draft beer given to “any heterosexual male dressed like a heterosexual male,” the bar said.
The bar even put out a call seeking a “professional” judge qualified “to determine if men’s chosen clothing is officially heterosexual,” offering $15 per hour plus free beer as compensation to anyone who “think[s] you have what it takes to determine straight threads.”
Wednesdays will be for couples, where “each heterosexual couple” will receive 15% off their bill.
Thursdays are ladies’ nights–heterosexual ladies, to be precise — with “Her Hetero Happy Hour” promising happy-hour prices for straight women all day long.
The Facebook post drew nearly 2,000 comments within 72 hours, with a well-balanced mix of people applauding the subversive mock celebration and those who took offense.
“This is horribly disappointing. I can handle differing political views. I CANNOT handle bigotry and hate towards marginalized communities,” a Facebook user wrote.
Another person weighed in, “Imagine being this insecure.”
But a supporter commented, “This is absolutely fantastic!
“Thank you for taking a stand for the rest of the community who has been too scared to do the right thing,” the person wrote.
Another commenter said, “I love that you have the balls to do a Hetero Male Monday party.”
Some people used the comments thread to troll the more easily offended posters.
“Heterosexuals, maintaining the human species for 40,000 years. You’re welcome!” one person said.
In a follow-up post addressing the brouhaha, Old State Saloon acknowledged that “lots of people are upset” about Heterosexual Awesomeness Month and sought to clarify a few things.
Facebook / Old State Saloon
“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!” wrote the bar — which also hosts events such as “conspiracy theory trivia” night with a rifle as the prize.
A commenter questioned this assertion, firing back, “If you ‘love’ your LGBTQ+ patrons, prove it. Have a night for them too.”
In response, the saloon 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!”
Pride Month is an annual celebration throughout the month of June intended to honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.
It began in June 1970 with pride marches in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago to mark the one-year anniversary of the riots sparked by the NYPD raiding the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village.
