The Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, has stirred things up by declaring June “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month.”
The bar posted on social media that it will feature special discounts, free beer, and even a “straight male clothing” contest.
“Come join us all month to celebrate heterosexuals, for without them, none of us would be here!” the bar wrote in a Facebook post. “Each Monday will be Hetero Male Monday and any heterosexual male dressed like a heterosexual male will receive a free draft beer. Each Wednesday is Heterosexual couples day and each heterosexual couple will receive 15% off their bill.”
The bar also announced that Thursdays will feature all-day happy hour pricing for heterosexual women.
The event created a stir online, with many people commenting negatively on the bar’s post.
Part of the backlash included an op-ed published by the Idaho Statesman calling out the event.
“Because most Idahoans will see this dog whistle for what it is. Old State Saloon is promoting intolerance. It’s putting the ‘trans’ in transparent bigotry,” an individual named Michael Deeds wrote. “This marketing gimmick is an insecure reaction to LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the annual celebration for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride in June.”
Old State Saloon responded to the opposition by refusing to back down.
“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.
“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+,” the bar continued. “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. If you want us to change who we are celebrating, get over it. It’s not happening. Hooray for heterosexuals!”
The bar’s proclamation coincides with Pride Month, which started being recognized in 1970 to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ community.
While the bar’s declaration drew plenty of backlash, there was also significant support for the gimmick. The original post has more than 2,500 comments, and subsequent posts generated as many as 1,000 comments.
“Since we announced Hetero Awesomeness Month we’ve had some significant backlash: theft of our property, vendors refusing to fulfill our orders for ingredients, wedding catering cancelation, libel, slander — even the owner being falsely accused of being a sex offender! But, to the credit of the community that is rational and reasonable, we’ve also received so much support from like-minded people who want to celebrate ‘Heterosexual Awesomeness Month’ with us, and get the concept of it as being about freedom and being true to our personal values,” the bar wrote.
Old State Saloon created a GiveSendGo page to raise money to create an event center for hosting future events. As of Monday afternoon, the fund has raised $3,904.