LGBTQ+ History Month

February is an important month, we’re finally starting to recover both in liver and in wallet, from the excesses of December. The days are getting longer and Valentines is just around the corner. It’s also, very importantly, LGBTQ+ History Month. So for this month’s blog we’re going to highlight some of the important figures in LGBTQ+ history.

Marsha P Johnson is one of the LGBTQ+ heavy hitters, she was a tireless activist. Advocating not only for Gay and Transgender rights but also the homeless LGBTQ+ youth and those affected by HIV and Aids. Marsha was at the front line of the Stonewall riots, co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and opened STAR House, a place where transgender youth could stay and feel safe. She was a friend, a mentor, a prominent drag queen and despite all the hardships she endured throughout her life, she did it all with a trademark smile on her face. So what better person to hero this month, than the energetic Marsha P Johnson.

Everyone knows the iconic rainbow flag it’s an unmistakable symbol of the LGBTQ+ community but what’s less widely known is the man who stitched it together. Gilbert Baker was the mind behind the instantly identifiable flag. Prior to its invention a Pink Triangle had been used as a symbol for the LGBTQ+ but due to it’s dark history, Harvey Milk challenged Baker to create a new, inspiring symbol for the community. And thus in 1978 the pride flag was born. Originally consisting of eight colours, hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for spirit. Since it’s conception the flag has dropped the pink and turquoise and gained alterations to include the many facets of LGBTQ+ but it is still one of the most widely recognised symbols in the world.

This year’s LGBT+ History Month theme is behind the lens. It’s only right that our last figure is a film director. Dorothy Arzner is one of the most important names in LGBTQ+ film history. Although she kept her private life just that, she never hid her sexual orientation. Openly maintaining a 40 year relationship with a female choreographer throughout the 1900s. Arzner was a force to be reckoned with, she was the only female director during Hollywood’s “Golden Era”. The first woman to direct a sound picture and has the largest oeuvre of any woman director to date. Dorothy was the first woman to join the Directors guild of America and the supposed creator of the boom microphone. Between 1927 and 1943 Arzner directed 20 films and launched the careers of Hollywood legends Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball.

So let’s raise a glass to these greats and to the countless others who have campaigned and petitioned and helped improve the lives of those in the LGBTQ+ community!

FOD Fizz

20ml Strawberry Shrub Syrup

30ml Absolut vodka

10ml Absolut Vanilla vodka

20ml lemon juice

20ml cream

2 dashes absinthe

15ml egg white

Shake and strain into a highball glass of cubed ice. Top with soda and garnish with fresh bunch of mint. 

Pay No Mind

10ml Falernum Syrup

15ml Elderflower Syrup

20ml lemon juice

Sparkling cider top

Build in a coupe. Garnish with elderflowers or a lemon twist.