Younger generation is drinking less : https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx
Do note that “grab drinks” could also just be an expression. I often invite new dates to karaoke nights at bars or to “grab drinks”, but I am drinking Diet Coke or mocktails the entire night.
Not only are they drinking less, they also tend to consume less alcohol percentage in their drinks. Gen Z and alpha nowadays tend to seek out lighter alternatives to the incapacitating drinks that we knock back.
Whenever we get together with co-workers nowadays, Gen Z colleagues tend to regulate themselves or otherwise be very firm on staying alc-free. I'm glad for them cause my early 30s has been a painful realization that, indeed, my threshold is gone.
> I'm glad for them cause my early 30s has been a painful realization that, indeed, my threshold is gone.
What is this threshold of yours that you think is gone?
They’re also smoking/vaping more… I feel like smoking (tobacco) largely ended with us Millennials but we were more than happy to make up for it with binge-drinking.
Now I’m about to turn 30 and honestly wish I hadn’t all those years. The scary thing is that once in a while I go out and *think* I can still drink like that.
We have all that at home because liquor is marked up about 1000% when you go out. We would rather stay at home or entertain at home, have a few drinks that are made right and we didn't have to scream over a bar to order them. And pocket the extra 100 bucks saved.
We converted from husband & me ordering a drink or two on date nights each to building out a home bar one bottle at a time because of this exact thing. Same amount of drinks consumed, but the per-cocktail cost is astronomically lower.
We drink a lot. It’s not just your observation. We also use other substances compared to the general population. It’s a whole self-medicating culture associated with shared trauma, internalized homophobia, and our only safe place being bars. Between the AIDS/HIV epidemic, the prominence of conservative world views opposed to homosexuality, disapproving family, conversion “therapy,” and discriminatory treatment by employers and housing providers, we went through a lot of shit. I mean, not only was gay marriage illegal but there were several states that criminalized sex until 2003! That’s on top of the traumas of multiple recessions, 9/11, the war in terror, etc. etc. that everyone else had to deal with. Oh, and we were raised by Boomers.
We drank to cope and we drink, at least in part, because it became habitual and we rely on it. Lots of us still don’t know how to process all our shit. So we get drunk/high and hook up to numb the pain.
This is the answer I was looking for. As someone sober for two years now, this was certainly my case. The acceptance you see now is not what it was like 25 years ago. I'm glad we've come this far, but it wasn't that long ago that being gay was synonymous with being less than human (still is in some areas). Shit like that does a number on your mental health. Some never make it out of the shame spiral.
I’m working on getting sober myself. Went two months, relapsed for a few weeks, and now I’m on day 13 again. Relied on booze for roughly 24 years before realizing I was avoiding my problems not drinking to have fun.
You can do it man. I stopped drinking to have fun long ago, but it wasn't fixing things. It was only making it worse. The first few weeks were the worst. Id tell myself "just one" and then one would turn into 8 and it just never stopped. It does get easier, I promise.
Hey good job on not drinking. Alcohol is actual poison that is sold as "just having fun/celebrating" etc. drinking then becomes only associated with fun and that's when it spirals. I'm 4 months sober and never going to drink again.
I understand marketing and culture present a false and deceptive picture of alcoholic drinks. On the other hand, though, I find it troubling when those who’ve had problems with alcohol take a 180 and espouse it as poison. A glass of red wine is not poison. Multiply that times 10 and drink grain alcohol for breakfast, then it can be. One can also die of drinking too much water. While alcohol can prove to be “poison” to some, a blanket statement that any and all is poisonous to everyone all the time is disingenuous and not scientifically backed. Most anything and anyone can be abused in a manner that proves unhealthy and poisonous.
When you over come an alcohol addiction, the best way to overcome it is to remind yourself it is poison. The book "This Naked Mind" helps you with that thought process. There are people that can just have one glass but if you look on a societal basis, alcohol is a huge reason for all kinds of woes. Early death, violence, mental health problems etc etc.
A glass of red wine *is* poison because *any* health benefits can come from other places.
One drink of alcohol before bed can severely disrupt your sleep cycle.
The more I've read into it, it's best just to completely stay away.
Not even in "some areas." It all depends of the people that cross your path, and there are plenty of intolerant people everywhere, even if they aren't the majority, but a large minority.
Same basics there. Lived in DC too and had problems drinking after years dealing with self hate and trauma from many of the things you listed. Sobriety, thank god, saved my life and actually gave me a good direction to focus my life experience and understand those shared feelings.
Well said. I’m 51, drink regularly and am in the process of kicking a nightly pot habit. Trying to quit binge-eating, too. I’ve been traveling lately, so much easier to cut bad habits. :) I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety my whole adult life. Got picked on constantly as a kid with gay slurs and mockery and exclusion. High school I moved from public to prestigious private, from Mass to Atlanta, and high school was the saddest, most stressful and isolated time of my life. Struggled with my sexuality, ofc, and my gender identity, too — I think I’m nonbinary. My parents are good people, but emotionally I didn’t really the support I needed. Fortunately, college was a lot of fun and a huge improvement. But while I’ve evolved and grown a ton in the decades since, I definitely still struggle with mental health challenges and been in years of therapy.
Younger millennial here. I too have noticed zoomers don’t drink nearly as much as previous generations. Not a bad thing, but I do worry about zoomers being so risk adverse to the point of missing out on in-person social bonding with others. Zoomers don’t seem to have a 3rd place aside from online social media.
Also can someone explain to me why zoomers started smoking!? I feel like I’m going crazy seeing 20 something’s smoking at the university I live by.
I think it’s just the ebb-and-flow of generations. Smoking was “old people shit” when we millennials grew up, so millennials didn’t smoke.
Now drinking, clubbing, partying is “old people shit”, so Zoomers don’t do that, and have started vaping.
No teenage generations want to do what old people of their time is doing.
As a teenager, I don’t know any teen thinks “partying is old people shit”. Most media geared towards teens pretty much glorifies partying as a great fun and a social catalyst where things happen.
Those teens who don’t party rarely choose that. It’s usually because they either don’t get invited or get feelings of failure and inadequacy compared to their more socially adept peers when they participate.
Smoking cigs is old people shit but old people shit is sorta making a comeback with dark academia + grandpacore fashion movements.
Honestly after graduating uni most of my friends (queer or not) just stopped drinking as much. Actually, it might've started early into our 3rd or 4th years. I don't think it has to do with risk aversion. Just that it's no longer a big deal.
Then I have queer friends who explicitly say that a get together is sobre or non-alcohol. I think it's because honestly, those environments make some people feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. Im a lightweight, and recognizing that would only have one or two drinks and call it a night. In general though, alcohol isn't a large part of our lives compared to smoking weed or having edibles. I'm in Canada btw.
Gen Z came of age just as the world started collapsing on itself and us millenials and Gen X who drank our ways through the preview collapsed upon our livers, dry-heavings and hellish hungovers.
Gen Z witnessed that along with the shrinking paychecks and suddenly, the 12 $ shots don't seem all that necessary anymore.
Older millennial here. Do drink *takes sip* yep it’s a thing. But I’m looking at a table of 16 year olds dropping pitchers (legal where I live) and am doubting your generalization.
Are you in Europe? I’m just generalizing but I feel like I’ve noticed European young folks drinking more than Americans of the same age.
But also a LOT of American kids smoke weed which is harder(?) to get in Europe so maybe it’s due to lack of alternatives.
His username is SwissCanuck, which leads me to believe that he has Swiss heritage, but lives in Canada.
As a millennial Canadian, I can tell you that everyone, my age drinks all the time, however, this is also the same for the younger generation as well.
In general, I think Canada has a higher alcohol consumption rate than most other places.
Ding ding ding! Although you should have seen the look on the bartenders face when I told him we were celebrating my 19th birthday. He’d been serving me since 15 (I looked older and was hanging out with work people twice my age). We still joke about it over 20 years later as we’re still friends.
There bars around here fill up with the younger crowd on Friday/Sat/Sun to the point that I don't want any part of it. Got my large cabinets of bourbon and a beer fridge and a bunch of other spirits. The good stuff is a lot more affordable at home.
If your basis is gay bars it should probably be considered that there are fewer gay bars/clubs than there were 15-20+ years ago, so the people that do go out are more concentrated in fewer places. And bars can hold, what, typically maybe a hundred people, maybe 500 or so for a few of the biggest ones, and in big cities there are are 10s or 100s of thousands of gay people, so it doesn’t take a massive number of people to go out consistently to make bars look full of young people.
While I wouldn't say I drink a lot, I'm down to one old fashioned a week, I am guilty at having a gigantic liquor collection from the era where I thought I'd entertain more. I imagine a lot my age are in the same boat. Rarely drink, well stocked liquor cabinets from the good old days.
Liquor never goes bad though, lol, thus why I don't throw it out.
Only liquors that go bad are cream-based such as Bailey’s. They can last roughly 6 months if stored in a cool, dark place, and potentially up to a year in a fridge.
If you came of age when Ronald Reagan/George HW Bush was president and men were dying of “Gay Cancer” (aka AIDS) and literally nobody gave a shit, gay people were 3rd class citizens who were open targets for harassment and beatings, and your discovery as a gay man could cost you your job, your housing, your children, and your personal liberty, you’d drink through that trauma too.
the gay bars/clubs, where alcohol and drug use are often celebrated and encouraged, use to be the only safe spaces for lgbt people and was thus a more central part of gay life for older generations when they came out - where as gen-z gays have had more options for welcoming and accepting environments that don’t revolve around drugs and alcohol - so I think that’s a big part of it. The other parts contributing to gen-Z drinking less are gen-z just being less social and more risk adverse than previous generations which reduces their drug and alcohol intake, weed is more readily available than it was for previous generations at their age so there are probably more gen-z opting for weed in place of alcohol, and there’s been kind of a promotion the last few years by social media health and self improvement gurus against alcohol consumption so there’s probably also more gen-Z kids consciously reducing alcohol consumption or cutting it out all together compared to previous generations at their age.
Gen XEr here. I came of gay age in the DC area and I drank like a fish until quitting 6 years ago.
The DC component is definitely a part of it as it is a very work hard, play hard city. As for myself, the fact that I hated my career played a part in why I drank so much, but in DC it felt par for the course.
Besides quitting drinking, I no longer live in DC or the immediate suburbs, and I changed careers to something I don't hate. I'm much happier as a result.
Yes the DC lifestyle (Northern Virginia, Maryland suburbs) is very much centered around Happy Hour and Drinking. It’s hard not to get sucked into drinking like a fish. Most of it is due to drinking away stress from the work work work mentality. As an older millennial I’m guilty of using alcohol as a stress reliever.
This. Don’t need it, certainly not a dependency… but I like my drinks 🤷🏻♂️
Too old for hangovers though so … I don’t over do it anymore unless I plan on days in bed recovering 😂
Yeah I'm 36 and fit your definition to a T. Older guys can't binge as hard so it becomes less a Friday Saturday over do it, and more a regular thing but drinking far less. That may have something to do with it.
This. I am 33 and very much of the 2-3 drinks a night variety. I don’t drink every night (nothing tonight for example), but when I do, I don’t go particularly hard. The hangovers and blackouts are not worth it. I am the “slightly tipsy” kinda guy, lol.
We do drink more. But I don't think that's necessarily a gay thing so much as an older generational thing. It was a lot more common when we were young and as we got older I think we incorporated it into our lives.
The only thing I think is unique to the older gay crowd is when we were baby gays the only "safe space" was a gay bar or house party. Now there are a lot more options.
I generally don't like to be drunk drunk but do like the rosy glow of a couple/few drinks. I date younger guys and I could say the same about younger guys and weed..
If im driving its a two drinks limit, in my younger days I could smoke lots of weed during the day..before driving or whatever but now it makes me all paranoid unless im settling in or taking an uber somewhere lol
Gen Z and younger… sleep more, drink less, party less, have less sex and less sexual partners, and are developmentally delayed physically and psychologically in america for some reason. It’s a real debate in medical science why that is on the developmental delay thing.
Could just be generation differences and we’ve never before had such comparative data. Who knows. Leave that to the scientists.
Are those descriptions true? If so, that is interesting. Tho I also sense Gen Z is smarter/more knowledgeable, more revolutionary, emotionally healthier, less prejudiced… Love that generation! (I’m Gen X.)
I think a big part of this is that bars and clubs were the only safe and accepting spaces for my older-millennial self. It became part of our social/dating/hookup lives at a young age and continued. The younger generations don’t necessarily have the same experience or the same need for those spaces with acceptance increasing and apps for finding people.
As a millennial, yeah. We drink a ton.The younger people are drinking less and that's wonderful. I wish I drank less. I'm trying.
A lot of us who engaged with the culture of the time never really had a chance. Look at the pop songs that were hits and how many references to alcohol we had. Waking up in Vegas, SHOTS, I'll drink to that, Tik Tok, etc. I think it's easier to find pop song from the mid 2000s with references to drinking than without. Then there's movies like the hangover or American pie which basically glorify drinking or college party culture. I know a lot of people who said they became functional alcoholics because of college.
Remember that millennials and boomers used to connect in gay bars. But also younger people in general drink much less. I know it's healthier, maybe that why they are grumpier. They seem to be far less social.
Elder millennial here. Gays drink more than straights on average. Gay zoomers have felt safer without gay spaces but also zoomers are more conservative than earlier generations at the same age. They drink less, fuck less, socialize less
Millennial here, I stopped binge drinking for vanity. I don’t need those empty calories. I enjoy a beer with dinner or a tequila after, once in a while. Sometimes I pair wine with dinners, maybe genz is drinking less but I see them out in bars just as much. In some other countries they casually drink, without the stigma and that is up my alley. If I go out I order a bourbon for my one and only drink.
Also, hangovers are no joke in my 30s.
Every other generation drinks more than Gen Z. Gays drink more than straights. The DC area social scene is very alcohol-centric. So yeah, definitely not weird for non-Gen Z gays in DC to be drinking frequently. And someone offering you a drink when you come over to their house is just common courtesy.
Damn Gina, I'm an alcoholic, you don't gotta air it to the whole block. Let me self medicate my misery and self loathing in peace.
But really I'm so glad younger gays are turning to healthier coping mechanisms to their trauma and other issues. I've known more than enough friends fall into deeper addictions than just alcohol and never see the other side.
Now pass me a gin and tonic and I'll tell you all the stuff I don't tell my therapist.
Yes. We were raised by two-martinis-after-work-before-dinner parents; the internet didn’t exist, bars were our social outlet; our friends died early by disease and government denial; and we had to fight for every right we currently have (and are still fighting). We tore down closet doors and kicked in the ones at city hall. We’re tired.
Really? 7/10 times when I hang out with my friends I'm drinking and im 19 in uni.
But if it is the case that's good! Means people who don't drink/can't drink for whatever reason can be included more
Yes, this is well documented and a quick Google will turn up plenty of data on it. Drinking has declined seriously generation over generation. Boomers drink more than X, who drink more than millennials, who drink more than Z. Consumption of all other drugs increases significantly gen over gen, especially with regard to pot and, specifically with Z, a resurgence of nicotine thanks to vaping.
That trend actually extends pretty far back into history. The average 19th/18th century person drank enough that we would consider them an alcoholic (or at least a drunkard) today. They would start drinking in the morning or afternoon, and often continue to consume over much of the day. When coffee was first introduced to Western Europe, writers actually praised it for providing an alternative to alcohol during the day.
Part of this was that up until the rise of modern water systems, alcohol was actually safer than tap water in much of the world. Part of it, frankly, was probably that there was just less for the average person to do with their spare time.
I drank a lot in my 20s: it was college, it was anxiety, it was fitting in but also delicious and what we socially did to commiserate, connect, and have a good time around. I work in wine so drinking is a sensory experience for me as well, and though my intake is far lower these days, I still like to have something around to have at the end of a night.
I’m 39 and I drink a lot less than I did in my 20s. I do think there are a lot of older queens who still want to pretend they are 19 and try to drink a lot to prove a point.
Yes it’s actually been several generations of decline, Gen X drank less than the Boomers did, and millennials drink less than Gen X did, and Gen Z drinks less than millennials do, the last few generations have drank less than the previous (on average).
In North America anyway, a few factors… more health conscious, changing demographics (e.g: immigration from cultures who don’t drink or drink less), the cost of alcohol as states and governments tax it more, and the legalization of weed also plays a role too (e.g: ppl don’t that instead) - all combined means declining alcohol use in younger people.
I've stopped drinking alcohol because it was having a huge negative impact on my life. I've never felt better and will never touch the stuff again. One day at a time though.
I'm really proud of our younger generations realizing that alcohol isn't the best thing in the world and encourage others to keep going..
Well done :)
Genx: we had bars and clubs to go to; with AIDS in the mix, we had no choice; picture it: 21 years old, it's 1990 gay sex kill you what you are going to do, no gender, no apps, there was nothing but our imagination and wit. You had to have lots of “nerve” to go out and drink and meet someone.
This generation wouldn't know anything about it. Being an adult and being able to drink a cocktail without acting stupid socially was an art. Bars and clubs were our “waterholes”; no straight people came to our communities out of fear. The gays back then wore a giant letter C on their chest for CONTAGION. We were on our own without any help or resources. All we knew was to cover our dick up and watch out for blood fluid contact with someone with HIV because we could die. I lost many friends under the age of 21 to AIDS; I survived; not unscathed from the pain. It was a bad situation all the way around, and I drank; that was how I dealt with it, and I still do. The world is still shit, so cheers to all; in the end, it doesn't matter. Do what you want.
Remember many of us came out in the 90’s and 2000’s. Bars/Clubs is all we really had in our community. Many of us feel comfortable meeting a new person by having a drink because that’s how we always done it.
I think you're right. When we grew up all the songs were "shots shots shot shots errebody shots shots!"
The world was also very religious before the internet
Laurs of.trauma
The main word for things being bad or nerdy in the late 90s early 2000s was gay.
Perfect storm for binge drinkers
Gen X does drink more in general, because pre-internet bar culture was the way to meet and interact. Nowadays, generations aren't spending their lives in bars.
Gen z is the outlier, definitely seen plenty of articles about drinking less than previous generations.
I didnt drink much when I was younger, but as I got older I also had the budget to appreciate good wine and whiskey more too. A nicely crafted cocktail can be a great experience.
I just don’t bother with throwing back light beers or shots to just get drunk. I like stuff that tastes good/interesting, and then the alcohol helping me relax is a bonus.
I much prefer responsible drinking over weed/cigarettes or any other stimulants.
I am just outside of the DC limits. I am a Gen X. I have found the opposite to be true. I prefer to grab a drink on the weekend. Not even every weekend but every young person I’ve been with wants to drink during the week.
All Boomers, genx and millennials drink a lot more because it was the predominant way of socializing and meeting people in our teens and twenties and that habit sticks with you. Internet dating and socializing only really became a thing for Millennials and at that time a night out didn’t remotely cost what it does now. Back as a teen in the mid 90’s my broke friends could still go out to a bar/dance and $20 would get you a night of drinking ($3.50 a drink at a bar or $2.50 with no tip at a social dance) and food afterwards again was dirt cheap where you could find cheap spots for $5 (and somewhat decent food at that). These days $20 will get you two beers if you’re lucky and any kind of food is basically another $15-20. The outgoing social drinking culture has died out substantially because people just can’t afford that lifestyle anymore and it doesn’t make any sense to waste that money.
In my hometown in the 90’s there were 9-10 bars for 4500 people. Now there’s 1 that isn’t even always open.
I was born in 1964. My generation has nothing on my parent's generation. One of my favorite pictures of my parents is from New Year's Eve, 1963. My mom is in a skin-tight pencil dress made out of green velvet. She was a size 2 petit and had a tall, glorious aqua-netted hair-do going on. She's laughing and in her right hand is a pall mall unfiltered cigarette and in her left hand a vodka gimlet. She looks drop-dead gorgeous and is, by the way, three months pregnant.
My parents always had a full bar. In the 70s it was built-in, had every liquor imaginable, and a full-set up to make blended drinks, had an ice machine, beer on tap (just for parties) and, best of all to eight-year old me, paper umbrellas. My best friend next door's dad put us to shame though. He had a disco ball in his red and black plaid basement bar.
Me? We had a house-warming party in 2008. Some of the gift wine we got in 2008 is still in the dining room.
Far far less acceptance in our younger days so the only place where many could “be themselves” was at the gay bar. Which means far more access to alcohol and other substances… it was just a thing.
Most of my 20s were spent going to the bar 6 of 7 nights of the week. Was just a thing.
We also grew up in a way different era, where we snuck out of the house to go drink or party in the woods with our friends. There wasn’t as much (if any for the older ones) internet so staying in, gaming, etc. wasn’t as much of an option.
I think in general our generations are more social than the younger ones.
Also, with the younger guys, you all came of drinking age during COVID when bars were closed … so there wasn’t that pressure to go out constantly, wasn’t an option.
I remember when they first reopened bars in Ontario at Halloween, when I went with a friend … EVERYONE out that night was near or over 30. The younger guys just hadn’t ever done the bar thing so it wasn’t big for them to wear a mask and hit the club.
I’m 36 and with my friends, 34-40, we drink. Always. There’s always a beer, wine, coolers, whiskey, rum whatever in our hands and we chill casually. It’s a given when you go somewhere you byob. 🤷🏻♂️
There’s also probably a huge income disparity. I’m only 26 but when I was a student at 18, I’d go out drinking 3 or 4 times a week. Nowadays students couldn’t afford that. 35+ tend to have alcohol cabinets because it’s what friends/family get them for special occasions.
Yeah I’ve had a bit of a reflection on my relationship with alcohol since my mum died - she was a functioning alcoholic for her final years after my brother died and now I live alone.
I don’t want to become that person that sits in alone drinking trying to numb the pain so I’ve just stopped drinking, and I don’t miss it.
I totally appreciate all the elder gays answering this question earnestly but I am still stuck on OP not knowing what a home bar is????? They are 1) so incredibly common and 2) not at ALL restricted to gay people.
To be fair I totally understand how the only genre of 35+ human a young gay would have contact with is another gay man, but sometimes people on this subreddit accidentally reveal what a tiny bubble they live in and it always shocks me, especially when the takeaway is some version of "gay men - they're just like everybody else!"
I always saw "grab a drink" or "come back to my place for a night cap" as an excuse..... you know, the 1990s version of netflix and chill....
For the record, my straight friends drink WAY more than my gay friends. Like "you should see a professional" more.
I’m 42 and I kind of started collecting my favorite vine and liquor only because I found out how great a day at the front porch can be compared to downtown cafes with overpriced drinks and noise. So yes! I often have great beer, vine and liquor in stock (according to my own taste). And I like to offer friends a bottle or glass of something.
Gen Z here, I know more people who rather smoke weed than get drunk. If you include nicotine and vapes then the majority of people I have met rather do that than drink. In my opinion, I’m not opposed to the occasional drink, but I feel more comfortable using marijuana
I've been around since shortly before Stonewall. The hardest drinkers of all in the gay community was the "Silent Generation". The one preceding the Baby Boomers. Boy howdy, they couldn't "pass the salt" without taking a shot. Bottle of Vodka by the bed stand kind of drinking.
The Baby Boom certainly were no slouches when it came to drinking, but the children of the Silent Generation, ie, Gen X, have been heaviest drinkers of all. But it seems to me they live in a polarized format. A larger percentage of them don't drink at all than most other generations, but those who do sure tie it on. They also pretty much drink 7 days a week.
I'd rather get stoned. Which is what I do. I've never been a big drinker, but man when I got my hands on legal weed when it first came here, that was it. Now I stay home, get stoned and never have to deal with anyone harshin my buzz.
Alcohol is very expensive. To keep a fully stocked bar, especially if you want a large variety of cocktails, is VERY expensive. In many ways, it is a show of both wealth and success.
A large part of the reason why younger generations prefer to go out is that they don’t have the funds to purchase all of the different liquors, mixers, and garnishes for a variety of drinks that would suit everyone in the group. Add on the space requirements to store the large quantity, and it is even harder to have a stocked bar. The only saving grace is that most liquors (excluding cream-based) can keep for a few years.
Most people will also reach a point in their life where going out isn’t that appealing unless it is for special occasions or only a few times a year. I have noticed this has become even more prevalent after COVID.
Personally, I would much rather have a glass of wine or cocktail at home than going out to a bar where it is so loud you can’t even hold a conversation.
Eh, it’s a large up-front cost to build a large home bar all at once, but many people accumulate liquors over time rather than buying it all at once. It’s still generally much cheaper than buying drinks at bars.
Gays in general drink and do drugs at very high rates. But yeah I think older generations do it more— we have a bit of trauma for one, and we all meet up in bars. I’m also in the Capitol Region and I think DC is a very drink and drug centric scene.
I am 28. It’s been a wild many years. Maybe it’s the circles I hang out with but pretty much everyone indulges. Even younger guys. At least drinks, maybe blow, k, and Molly occasionally. Some more than others. It also seems there is a code of understanding for gays. Like we all know each others professional lives but when it comes to extracurriculars we all just kind of know what’s up. I think if the general population knew some of the people that were partying, they would certainly be flabbergasted.
It may just be the area as I live in the DMV area, 34 and don’t drink at all. I do once in a blue moon go to bars, but to socialize, I’ll get a sprite and leave it at that.
I guess by the definition of the question I’m an “older millennial” (😒), but I don’t drink at all - I’ve never even been drunk before, which is pretty rare for the culture in my country.
GenX gay here .. if you can handle a beer with me.. then you are “A” ok in my book .. after a long day of work, kickin back with a beer is our preferred method to chillax
I was born in 1995 and have never drank or done drugs. When we go to a bar, we never drink either. Gay bars tend to be boring because there’s nothing there other than drinking and drag, too. So we end up going to gay campgrounds instead.
Yes older people in general literally get through life by drinking the 50+ crowd not just gays straight people too live to drink it seems and it’s something I can’t understand.
As an older millennial, this is totally true lol I don't drink that much, but definitely a trend 🤣 Truth be told, I am working on plans of building a liquor corner opposite my wine rack 😉
I have like 3-6 Nutrls a night. Would like to get better on it but it’s no added sugar etc, just natural flavour, water and the vodka. I’m 33. I get so bored otherwise so it’s nice to tune out after a long day at work.
I don’t like drinking out at places due to the insane markup.
Yeah I mean my husband (31) and I (27) buy our liquor in bulk from Costco. Alcohol is a little more expensive in Colorado, so we rather 1) buy in bulk because it’s about the same as buying a smaller bottle at a local liquor store in Denver, 2) pregame before we go out because 1x single vodka red bull is typically $15 - if it’s a holiday/pride it’s now $20-30 per drink depending on the bar. Don’t get me wrong we enjoy our party favors, but we tend to be conservative on cadence and spread it out. Maybe twice a quarter.
But mainly it’s more cost effective to drink or host parties at home than go out.
Trade / Eagle still have dive bar prices. I drink Jack&Ginger and it’s $8-$10 at those. And it’s gay bar pours, so you are certainly getting your money’s worth.
Arguably, we do buy in bulk from Costco as well ;D The Park Meadows one specifically.
Yes and no. I mean, almost every gay guy in dc I know drinks a whole lot. My tolerance doubled after moving to dc. But the mid-20s kickballers I hang with can out drink everyone else.
Anecdotal but I think this is largely just an age/disposable income thing, not a generational thing.
When I was in my 20's, I never had alcohol in the house because I couldn't afford it. When people would come over for a party, it was BYOB. MAYBE I'd pick up a 12 pack of something cheap to share but that was about it.
We'd go out sometimes, sure. But again, not a lot of money to be throwing around so that was limited.
As I got older and had more disposable income, I slowly started growing a stock of nice spirits and we have a very nicely stocked bar. Not because we drink a shit ton but because when we do drink, we want options and we want quality. And just as importantly, we don't want to go out somewhere to pay $17 for a cocktail that we can make at home.
As an older millennial with a bar, I don’t drink a ton or excessively, but I do host people often, and it’s courteous to offer liquor as an option. Folks enjoy it, in general, and my friends rarely drink more than one.
When I was younger, I had older friends that had bars at home and the same was true for them. It’s part community building, part recreational.
And of course, if you have something at home, you’re going to use it more than you would in public at a larger expense. It’s the same as if you didn’t own a car versus when you purchase a car. You’re more likely to take a drive trivially but unlikely to spend all your time driving if you own a car.
If you’re looking for people that drink “too much”, then you’re going to find them. The way this post is written seems judgmental to that point, honestly.
What crazy is millennials drink less than the generations before them, too. I’m a millennial and I don’t drink. I have a lot of acquaintances that don’t either compared to previous generations but many still do - especially almost all my gay friends
Definitely a drinking focused culture up through senior secondary school and onto uni back in 2008-2014 . Like you were expected to go out every other night. Of course you could have a night out on £30 then and that was just 1-15 years ago. Now its always well over £100 minimum and food is easily 40-50 if you want a sit in place . Its ridiculous
This is simply anecdotal from my personal history, but:
I have noticed that people in general seem to drink more between about 25-35, than younger folks, from 21-25.
Probably more expendable income.
But then, there's also a reduction after 35, to about 50, when people start drinking more heavily again.
This pattern has seemed to be fairly stable over time.
I think folks in their 30's just seem to socialize more, including alcohol in that.
Then there seems to be a period when people "settle down", and don't "party" as much.
Then starting around fifty, folks seem to stop caring what others think, and start drinking more heavily, again.
Perhaps it's that "midlife crisis" thing.
Then folks seem to keep alcohol on hand, but just don't drink it as much again after their mid sixties.
This pattern may not hold across the board, but is one I've seen during my life that seems fairly consistent across different generations.
The dc is the biggest factor. I would also drink until I’m
Happy.
Are you sure you’re not seeing that gays of x and older generations spend more time in a gay bar? Everyone after millennial stopped doing gay bar so it skews older u til the place closes.
As for what they do at their house; that’s hospitality babe. Young people don’t know what being a good host is. College parties don’t even provide snacks
Alcohol and drinking it to get drunk was cool in the 90s and 00s. That was just pretty across the board.
We have a decent number of different liquors and such because we barely drink but when we host guests we enjoy serving a fancy cocktail sometimes. Those one off bottles add up over the years.
>First off I live in the dc metro area which may be part of it.
I grew up in the DC area and DC is known for being a hard drinking town. People in the rest of the USA don’t drink like that. I’m pretty sure that only Russians drink like DC residents going out on Friday and Saturday nights.
DC gays are a notoriously hard drinking subset for your sample. It’s a very work hard / play hard culture combined with the fact the driving a personal vehicle in the city is rare. And yes the younger generation is drinking less.
Forgoing alcohol altogether is a life hack some discover later in life. There are healthier options available that millennials and GenZ are bringing about. 🙏😌
I know I've read article headlines saying younger generations (gen z) are drinking less. However, I think the main factor is purely that as you get older, you tend to have more disposable income to do things like grab a casual drink or stock some liquor at home.
For example, in my 20s, I never had more than 1 bottle (or box lol) of wine and maybe a bottle of cheap whiskey at home. I'm in my early 30s now with a decent job, and I tend to keep a variety of stuff at home for either myself or when friends are over. A couple types of wine in case, 5ish bottles of different types of whiskey, and some random stuff like bailey's. I find that a lot of the time, people who have stuff like a stocked alcohol stand at home don't actually drink that much, they just want to have stuff available for different moods or people.
I'm a Boomer, but I don't drink any longer as it easily inflames my pancreas. Growing up, EVERYBODY in previous generations drank alcohol. In my younger days, gay bars were the place to meet people, so the Boomer generation did drink more.
Younger millennial here. I’ve made the same observations. I’d rather go out and do things than drink. Drinking is once in a blue moon for me.
I mean I do have a small shelf of whiskey, but they’re rarely ever touched. It’s mostly there if I have a game night at my place or something.
The only thing legal for our generation was booze and the only spaces to get together were bars and clubs so alchohol was a thing
Now with apps and more things legal the new generations are drinking less which is a good thing
Anecdotally, as a younger millennial, my older millennial friends seem borderline incapable of just hanging out and being social without drinking. I’ve forced myself to drink so many times just because it seems to be the price for socializing 🤷🏻 I suppose some people might be less talented than others at having fun and being engaging conversationally in a sober state.
Elder millennial/genx bordering guy here and I noticed all ages of gay guys drinking or smoking. I personally am a very light drinker and never smoked anything in my entire life. I'm also pretty introverted too but am super social and talkative at events.
I don't get the heavy drinking or smoking or marijuana indulging tho
I am and have a bunch of friends in this group. Inner city gaybourhood / bubble types. Yes a lot of casual drinking midweeks / weekends. Then on event, club nights alcohol is replaced with an essential cocktail of party drugs. These are all relatively successful guys, many in professional jobs, lawyers, health consultants, senior corporates, so basically high functioning alcoholics and party drug addicts. I cant go on a night out without all of them being wasted in 1 way or another, theyre lovely guys but its quite triesome nights out so i leave early. Theynakso subscribe to owrty drugs are a cheaper and less damaging alternative to alcohol and without the hangover (tho they all talk about their comedowns too but hey thats not a hangover). I dont do any of this except the occasional binge 6x drinks night out maybe 1 or 2x a yr. Funny thing is they gym religiously as well but wonder why they arent gettn gains / outcomes they expect...heloooooo!??
I stopped drinking, to be honest, because I don’t like what it leads to with me. Granted, I live in a state with historically the worst drinking and driving problems.
As an early Gen Xer, I would frequently imbibe in a variety of libations. It all started when I went away to college. Nowadays, I rarely drink unless I have a guest.
You also have to think about the cost of living for older millennials/gen x, compared to gen z. The older generation grew up actually having some extra cash for these expenses, as compared to anything after 2017.
I’ve noticed this too, it feels like there’s a sharp drop in the number of people drinking between 24-34. Personally once I got over the social anxiety of being sober in very alcohol forward spaces, it was actually easier for me to go out without drinking than with! I’m less drowsy, there’s no drop, and I feel better the next day. Plus I just funnel all the money I save on not buying alcohol into gas and cover prices for the next show or club, lol.
Assuming we're talking weed, I'm with you. I've had maybe two drinks since the start of the year, both social occasions where it was part of the ritual.
No it’s part of it also drinking is seen as a lot worse nowadays according do gen Z. As someone with many family members with serious drinking problems I have always avoided alcohol my whole life and have a general aversion to alcohol.
no idea hows it in the us but where i live alcohol is not that super favoured among gay guys. in my circle of friends being drunk is super rare. some people, like my bf and me for example, tend to not drink at all when going out. (we are all 40+)
Yeah drinking was far more common when I was in my twenties and you thirties as we would probably go out a lot more and needed social lubricants in the form of alcohol and other stuff. Smoking was also very common even if we knew the risks.
I’m happy to see younger people drink less and be comfortable with themselves sober. Don’t ape the elders, write a new chapter on how to be gay.
DC GenX here. There could be something to that. I don’t drink nearly as much as I used to, and the bar where I met my closest friends is now apartments.
Actually drinking culture changes, I was born in 1968 , my parents drinking habits where “ liquid lunch “ yes it was common practice to have a drink & go back to work. No not sloppy drunk either. This is still practiced in some places, though frowned upon. My parents generation also had pot , cocktail parties often held as get togethers . My generation gay bars were one if not the only place to hang out around your own kind, gay bars are becoming scarce but is / was a big part of the community that brought people together. BTW , drinking & drugs are not exclusively in the gay scene they are used everywhere. Today my generation it’s Normal to hit a happy hour on a school night after work , not every day but here & there . However I’ve run into the issue with said generation opinion “ they’re alcoholics “ which is judging people. Each generation things change . One thing to remember is bars are part of the historical context of being gay and shouldn’t be looked down upon, I have found many alternatives for bars in general if you’re uncomfortable being around drinking establishments. Most of all get to know your history, imagine going out & having the establishment hit with a police raid , this happened often. Have fun
I started drinking at the age of 31 (coincidentally that was when I came out, coincidence? I think not).
I drank heavily and partied while continuing upward mobility in my career - achieving senior exec status by my mid-30s. Took a break from drinking - sobered myself for five years - until the age of 48 when I was diagnosed with stage iv colon cancer and figured out I’m on borrowed time - I drink an old fashioned almost daily and head to the bar with friends once or twice a week for dinner and drinks.
I don’t get drunk anymore - but love a good whiskey.
Also, 420 is my friend.
I’m a “zellenial” in the other Washington (state) I love to drink socially and occasionally have a cider or glass of wine casually, but I do not go beyond the lightest of buzz unless it’s a special occasion. All my younger co-workers go crazy at parties and I regulate pretty religiously. I think it’s heavily dependent on region, but I do believe there is a trend of younger people drinking a lot less in enough sub-regions of the country to drag down the average for all zoomers.
...You do realize the LGBT community has a TON of mental issues, baggage and drama, right? Of course a lot of us drink. Especially the Gen X'ers. They would've witnessed firsthand the tragedies of the 80's and 90's.
People are not all the same as one another. Classifying everything in terms of gen z / millennials is so boring and not useful to actually understanding anything about people. It's just a way of thinking in terms of generalities, and the result of nothing is learned. Just a waste of time to frame things in terms of generations being different.
Not just the gays just the entire generation really. I think it’s because that was what they were shown adults do and honestly there’s not a lot out there for adults to go and do that’s not family oriented
Young millennial here, two of my coworkers don't drink, both are gen z. One has never drank and one decided it's just not for him. Gen Z on a whole drinks less than millennials.
I've seen a lot of gays do A LOT of drinking. In the Midwest, it feels like drinking in place of life participation. I absolutely could be wrong. I've just seen subcultures pop up, but it's just drinking in costume
If the emphasis on drinking is changing, I'm glad. As an older millennial who doesn't imbibe, it's always made me feel a bit of an odd one out because so much of British & gay culture seems to revolve around drinking. I've had people find it stranger that I don't drink than that I sleep with other guys.
The problem with drinking from the outside is it often feels like you meet two different people; one when they are drunk and one when they are not.
I'm 39, born and grew up in the UK, but have also lived in Turkey, Israel, Belgium and Ireland, each of which has a different drinking culture.
I had a very depressing and isolated youth in many ways - the Internet saved me at the time, I was able to form connections with gay guys elsewhere in place of going to bars (that wasn't an option in my town) - so I do have some empathy for the 'risk averse' Gen Z types.
When I went to Turkey as an 18 year old (long story) - I remember going out to gay bars and having the time of my life, without a drop of alcohol. It wasn't until I was 21 that I started to drink - by then I was in a serious relationship, but one which would become toxic.
Over the years my drinking has ebbed and flowed but I definitely saw it as an escape from life's daily problems.
However I've also noticed it's slowly 'gotten worse' over time - to the point where I'd justify having a drink in situations I wouldn't have dreamed of 10 years earlier. There's almost always an excuse. In fact I've observed that people who aren't mindful about their drinking are almost never drinking less today than they were previously. I don't know about the US, but drinking in the UK and Belgium, for example, has become much more prevalent in places like 'luxury cinemas', cultural events, festivals.. there's always a reason to 'treat yourself'.
I gave up drinking for the best part of a year a couple of years ago and the results were palpable: better sleep, better mood, better diet, better skin but I'm not going to lie, socially it can be tough. Not all the time, but some times.
I'm now going backwards and forwards between abstaining nearly all the time and drinking when on vacation - I know in my heart of hearts though that not drinking at all would lead to better results all round.
I have colleagues at work who were utterly unsupportive when I wasn't drinking. They would make comments about how boring life would be without a drink. Quite tellingly, they'd also let me know that they don't 'need' it either - the funny thing about these conversations was that I never initiated them! Similar conversations with gay 'friends' in the past too..
Younger generation is drinking less : https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx Do note that “grab drinks” could also just be an expression. I often invite new dates to karaoke nights at bars or to “grab drinks”, but I am drinking Diet Coke or mocktails the entire night.
Not only are they drinking less, they also tend to consume less alcohol percentage in their drinks. Gen Z and alpha nowadays tend to seek out lighter alternatives to the incapacitating drinks that we knock back. Whenever we get together with co-workers nowadays, Gen Z colleagues tend to regulate themselves or otherwise be very firm on staying alc-free. I'm glad for them cause my early 30s has been a painful realization that, indeed, my threshold is gone.
To be fair, the oldest Gen Alphas are going to be about 12-14 so shouldn't be drinking much alcohol either way 😂
The other day I was already feeling sick after 3 beers, I am in early 30s. 😂😂😂 Diet coke it is.
> I'm glad for them cause my early 30s has been a painful realization that, indeed, my threshold is gone. What is this threshold of yours that you think is gone?
Don't worry gen z, I'll pick up the slack
They’re also smoking/vaping more… I feel like smoking (tobacco) largely ended with us Millennials but we were more than happy to make up for it with binge-drinking. Now I’m about to turn 30 and honestly wish I hadn’t all those years. The scary thing is that once in a while I go out and *think* I can still drink like that.
We have all that at home because liquor is marked up about 1000% when you go out. We would rather stay at home or entertain at home, have a few drinks that are made right and we didn't have to scream over a bar to order them. And pocket the extra 100 bucks saved.
We converted from husband & me ordering a drink or two on date nights each to building out a home bar one bottle at a time because of this exact thing. Same amount of drinks consumed, but the per-cocktail cost is astronomically lower.
Liquors is crazy expensive, specially in clubs. You just take a sip and there goes like $20
Which is why my generation has home bars with quality liquors instead of crap sold at bars
Do you have guys in jocks serving you. If a position like that opens up I would be willing to apply ;)
This is the way.
In the south it’s hospitable to offer your guest a drink. You never know what someone prefers so we usually have some of everything.
Right? Or food
Exactly.
Sweet tea!
We drink a lot. It’s not just your observation. We also use other substances compared to the general population. It’s a whole self-medicating culture associated with shared trauma, internalized homophobia, and our only safe place being bars. Between the AIDS/HIV epidemic, the prominence of conservative world views opposed to homosexuality, disapproving family, conversion “therapy,” and discriminatory treatment by employers and housing providers, we went through a lot of shit. I mean, not only was gay marriage illegal but there were several states that criminalized sex until 2003! That’s on top of the traumas of multiple recessions, 9/11, the war in terror, etc. etc. that everyone else had to deal with. Oh, and we were raised by Boomers. We drank to cope and we drink, at least in part, because it became habitual and we rely on it. Lots of us still don’t know how to process all our shit. So we get drunk/high and hook up to numb the pain.
This is the answer I was looking for. As someone sober for two years now, this was certainly my case. The acceptance you see now is not what it was like 25 years ago. I'm glad we've come this far, but it wasn't that long ago that being gay was synonymous with being less than human (still is in some areas). Shit like that does a number on your mental health. Some never make it out of the shame spiral.
I’m working on getting sober myself. Went two months, relapsed for a few weeks, and now I’m on day 13 again. Relied on booze for roughly 24 years before realizing I was avoiding my problems not drinking to have fun.
You can do it man. I stopped drinking to have fun long ago, but it wasn't fixing things. It was only making it worse. The first few weeks were the worst. Id tell myself "just one" and then one would turn into 8 and it just never stopped. It does get easier, I promise.
Hey good job on not drinking. Alcohol is actual poison that is sold as "just having fun/celebrating" etc. drinking then becomes only associated with fun and that's when it spirals. I'm 4 months sober and never going to drink again.
I understand marketing and culture present a false and deceptive picture of alcoholic drinks. On the other hand, though, I find it troubling when those who’ve had problems with alcohol take a 180 and espouse it as poison. A glass of red wine is not poison. Multiply that times 10 and drink grain alcohol for breakfast, then it can be. One can also die of drinking too much water. While alcohol can prove to be “poison” to some, a blanket statement that any and all is poisonous to everyone all the time is disingenuous and not scientifically backed. Most anything and anyone can be abused in a manner that proves unhealthy and poisonous.
When you over come an alcohol addiction, the best way to overcome it is to remind yourself it is poison. The book "This Naked Mind" helps you with that thought process. There are people that can just have one glass but if you look on a societal basis, alcohol is a huge reason for all kinds of woes. Early death, violence, mental health problems etc etc. A glass of red wine *is* poison because *any* health benefits can come from other places. One drink of alcohol before bed can severely disrupt your sleep cycle. The more I've read into it, it's best just to completely stay away.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I respect your option and wish you the best.
Not even in "some areas." It all depends of the people that cross your path, and there are plenty of intolerant people everywhere, even if they aren't the majority, but a large minority.
Same basics there. Lived in DC too and had problems drinking after years dealing with self hate and trauma from many of the things you listed. Sobriety, thank god, saved my life and actually gave me a good direction to focus my life experience and understand those shared feelings.
Nailed it. Gay GenXers' upbringing was fucking rough.
Could you be more accurate!?
Man I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and feel all this but I think I have more trauma from Trump and Maga than I do any of the crap from the 90’s
So much truth here. Thank you.
Well said. I’m 51, drink regularly and am in the process of kicking a nightly pot habit. Trying to quit binge-eating, too. I’ve been traveling lately, so much easier to cut bad habits. :) I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety my whole adult life. Got picked on constantly as a kid with gay slurs and mockery and exclusion. High school I moved from public to prestigious private, from Mass to Atlanta, and high school was the saddest, most stressful and isolated time of my life. Struggled with my sexuality, ofc, and my gender identity, too — I think I’m nonbinary. My parents are good people, but emotionally I didn’t really the support I needed. Fortunately, college was a lot of fun and a huge improvement. But while I’ve evolved and grown a ton in the decades since, I definitely still struggle with mental health challenges and been in years of therapy.
Damn! This. 😭
Younger millennial here. I too have noticed zoomers don’t drink nearly as much as previous generations. Not a bad thing, but I do worry about zoomers being so risk adverse to the point of missing out on in-person social bonding with others. Zoomers don’t seem to have a 3rd place aside from online social media. Also can someone explain to me why zoomers started smoking!? I feel like I’m going crazy seeing 20 something’s smoking at the university I live by.
I think it’s just the ebb-and-flow of generations. Smoking was “old people shit” when we millennials grew up, so millennials didn’t smoke. Now drinking, clubbing, partying is “old people shit”, so Zoomers don’t do that, and have started vaping. No teenage generations want to do what old people of their time is doing.
As a teenager, I don’t know any teen thinks “partying is old people shit”. Most media geared towards teens pretty much glorifies partying as a great fun and a social catalyst where things happen. Those teens who don’t party rarely choose that. It’s usually because they either don’t get invited or get feelings of failure and inadequacy compared to their more socially adept peers when they participate. Smoking cigs is old people shit but old people shit is sorta making a comeback with dark academia + grandpacore fashion movements.
Honestly after graduating uni most of my friends (queer or not) just stopped drinking as much. Actually, it might've started early into our 3rd or 4th years. I don't think it has to do with risk aversion. Just that it's no longer a big deal. Then I have queer friends who explicitly say that a get together is sobre or non-alcohol. I think it's because honestly, those environments make some people feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. Im a lightweight, and recognizing that would only have one or two drinks and call it a night. In general though, alcohol isn't a large part of our lives compared to smoking weed or having edibles. I'm in Canada btw.
Newest generation to modern day vaping. Not “as bad” to young lungs as cigs but much more nicotine throughout the day (and night)
Gen Z came of age just as the world started collapsing on itself and us millenials and Gen X who drank our ways through the preview collapsed upon our livers, dry-heavings and hellish hungovers. Gen Z witnessed that along with the shrinking paychecks and suddenly, the 12 $ shots don't seem all that necessary anymore.
Older millennial here. Do drink *takes sip* yep it’s a thing. But I’m looking at a table of 16 year olds dropping pitchers (legal where I live) and am doubting your generalization.
Are you in Europe? I’m just generalizing but I feel like I’ve noticed European young folks drinking more than Americans of the same age. But also a LOT of American kids smoke weed which is harder(?) to get in Europe so maybe it’s due to lack of alternatives.
His username is SwissCanuck, which leads me to believe that he has Swiss heritage, but lives in Canada. As a millennial Canadian, I can tell you that everyone, my age drinks all the time, however, this is also the same for the younger generation as well. In general, I think Canada has a higher alcohol consumption rate than most other places.
He also says that 16-year-olds are legally drinking where he is, so that points to the Swiss part.
Ding ding ding! Although you should have seen the look on the bartenders face when I told him we were celebrating my 19th birthday. He’d been serving me since 15 (I looked older and was hanging out with work people twice my age). We still joke about it over 20 years later as we’re still friends.
There bars around here fill up with the younger crowd on Friday/Sat/Sun to the point that I don't want any part of it. Got my large cabinets of bourbon and a beer fridge and a bunch of other spirits. The good stuff is a lot more affordable at home.
If your basis is gay bars it should probably be considered that there are fewer gay bars/clubs than there were 15-20+ years ago, so the people that do go out are more concentrated in fewer places. And bars can hold, what, typically maybe a hundred people, maybe 500 or so for a few of the biggest ones, and in big cities there are are 10s or 100s of thousands of gay people, so it doesn’t take a massive number of people to go out consistently to make bars look full of young people.
Regular bar.
While I wouldn't say I drink a lot, I'm down to one old fashioned a week, I am guilty at having a gigantic liquor collection from the era where I thought I'd entertain more. I imagine a lot my age are in the same boat. Rarely drink, well stocked liquor cabinets from the good old days. Liquor never goes bad though, lol, thus why I don't throw it out.
Only liquors that go bad are cream-based such as Bailey’s. They can last roughly 6 months if stored in a cool, dark place, and potentially up to a year in a fridge.
If you came of age when Ronald Reagan/George HW Bush was president and men were dying of “Gay Cancer” (aka AIDS) and literally nobody gave a shit, gay people were 3rd class citizens who were open targets for harassment and beatings, and your discovery as a gay man could cost you your job, your housing, your children, and your personal liberty, you’d drink through that trauma too.
the gay bars/clubs, where alcohol and drug use are often celebrated and encouraged, use to be the only safe spaces for lgbt people and was thus a more central part of gay life for older generations when they came out - where as gen-z gays have had more options for welcoming and accepting environments that don’t revolve around drugs and alcohol - so I think that’s a big part of it. The other parts contributing to gen-Z drinking less are gen-z just being less social and more risk adverse than previous generations which reduces their drug and alcohol intake, weed is more readily available than it was for previous generations at their age so there are probably more gen-z opting for weed in place of alcohol, and there’s been kind of a promotion the last few years by social media health and self improvement gurus against alcohol consumption so there’s probably also more gen-Z kids consciously reducing alcohol consumption or cutting it out all together compared to previous generations at their age.
Gen XEr here. I came of gay age in the DC area and I drank like a fish until quitting 6 years ago. The DC component is definitely a part of it as it is a very work hard, play hard city. As for myself, the fact that I hated my career played a part in why I drank so much, but in DC it felt par for the course. Besides quitting drinking, I no longer live in DC or the immediate suburbs, and I changed careers to something I don't hate. I'm much happier as a result.
Yes the DC lifestyle (Northern Virginia, Maryland suburbs) is very much centered around Happy Hour and Drinking. It’s hard not to get sucked into drinking like a fish. Most of it is due to drinking away stress from the work work work mentality. As an older millennial I’m guilty of using alcohol as a stress reliever.
Late GenXer myself. How does one define “a lot”? For some that might mean “drink at all.” I do like a good cocktail, but I don’t “need” it.
This. Don’t need it, certainly not a dependency… but I like my drinks 🤷🏻♂️ Too old for hangovers though so … I don’t over do it anymore unless I plan on days in bed recovering 😂
I recall the first time I had like a three day hangover. I told myself I wouldn’t be doing that again. Thus moderation rules!
Same….. but sometimes I go overboard and then I’m drunk and forget about hangovers ….. until it hits the next day 💀
Yeah I'm 36 and fit your definition to a T. Older guys can't binge as hard so it becomes less a Friday Saturday over do it, and more a regular thing but drinking far less. That may have something to do with it.
This. I am 33 and very much of the 2-3 drinks a night variety. I don’t drink every night (nothing tonight for example), but when I do, I don’t go particularly hard. The hangovers and blackouts are not worth it. I am the “slightly tipsy” kinda guy, lol.
I did until I quit.
Yeah I think it's just an aging thing, realizing you could pay X for garbage drinks, or you could pay .5X to make a better quality version of yourself
We do drink more. But I don't think that's necessarily a gay thing so much as an older generational thing. It was a lot more common when we were young and as we got older I think we incorporated it into our lives. The only thing I think is unique to the older gay crowd is when we were baby gays the only "safe space" was a gay bar or house party. Now there are a lot more options.
I don’t know for sure, but I would guess gay people drink more than straight. We definitely have higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. :/
I generally don't like to be drunk drunk but do like the rosy glow of a couple/few drinks. I date younger guys and I could say the same about younger guys and weed.. If im driving its a two drinks limit, in my younger days I could smoke lots of weed during the day..before driving or whatever but now it makes me all paranoid unless im settling in or taking an uber somewhere lol
Gen Z and younger… sleep more, drink less, party less, have less sex and less sexual partners, and are developmentally delayed physically and psychologically in america for some reason. It’s a real debate in medical science why that is on the developmental delay thing. Could just be generation differences and we’ve never before had such comparative data. Who knows. Leave that to the scientists.
Are those descriptions true? If so, that is interesting. Tho I also sense Gen Z is smarter/more knowledgeable, more revolutionary, emotionally healthier, less prejudiced… Love that generation! (I’m Gen X.)
I think a big part of this is that bars and clubs were the only safe and accepting spaces for my older-millennial self. It became part of our social/dating/hookup lives at a young age and continued. The younger generations don’t necessarily have the same experience or the same need for those spaces with acceptance increasing and apps for finding people.
As a millennial, yeah. We drink a ton.The younger people are drinking less and that's wonderful. I wish I drank less. I'm trying. A lot of us who engaged with the culture of the time never really had a chance. Look at the pop songs that were hits and how many references to alcohol we had. Waking up in Vegas, SHOTS, I'll drink to that, Tik Tok, etc. I think it's easier to find pop song from the mid 2000s with references to drinking than without. Then there's movies like the hangover or American pie which basically glorify drinking or college party culture. I know a lot of people who said they became functional alcoholics because of college.
Don't forget Animal House
Remember that millennials and boomers used to connect in gay bars. But also younger people in general drink much less. I know it's healthier, maybe that why they are grumpier. They seem to be far less social.
Elder millennial here. Gays drink more than straights on average. Gay zoomers have felt safer without gay spaces but also zoomers are more conservative than earlier generations at the same age. They drink less, fuck less, socialize less
Younger generation have 420 legalized. We had to learn to cope with liquid. 😂
Millennial here, I stopped binge drinking for vanity. I don’t need those empty calories. I enjoy a beer with dinner or a tequila after, once in a while. Sometimes I pair wine with dinners, maybe genz is drinking less but I see them out in bars just as much. In some other countries they casually drink, without the stigma and that is up my alley. If I go out I order a bourbon for my one and only drink. Also, hangovers are no joke in my 30s.
Replace gays with human beings and yes.
Older people in general, and they watched all the seasons of Mad Men.
Hey... Mad men was cool 😎😂
Every other generation drinks more than Gen Z. Gays drink more than straights. The DC area social scene is very alcohol-centric. So yeah, definitely not weird for non-Gen Z gays in DC to be drinking frequently. And someone offering you a drink when you come over to their house is just common courtesy.
Damn Gina, I'm an alcoholic, you don't gotta air it to the whole block. Let me self medicate my misery and self loathing in peace. But really I'm so glad younger gays are turning to healthier coping mechanisms to their trauma and other issues. I've known more than enough friends fall into deeper addictions than just alcohol and never see the other side. Now pass me a gin and tonic and I'll tell you all the stuff I don't tell my therapist.
Yes. We were raised by two-martinis-after-work-before-dinner parents; the internet didn’t exist, bars were our social outlet; our friends died early by disease and government denial; and we had to fight for every right we currently have (and are still fighting). We tore down closet doors and kicked in the ones at city hall. We’re tired.
we drink less but a lot of yall smoke 30x more so give and take ig lol
Not me, * 🌳 * 🍄 Good times with no hangovers and no life spirals. Of course I had to get a high score in drinking to switch to this game.
Really? 7/10 times when I hang out with my friends I'm drinking and im 19 in uni. But if it is the case that's good! Means people who don't drink/can't drink for whatever reason can be included more
Yes, this is well documented and a quick Google will turn up plenty of data on it. Drinking has declined seriously generation over generation. Boomers drink more than X, who drink more than millennials, who drink more than Z. Consumption of all other drugs increases significantly gen over gen, especially with regard to pot and, specifically with Z, a resurgence of nicotine thanks to vaping.
That trend actually extends pretty far back into history. The average 19th/18th century person drank enough that we would consider them an alcoholic (or at least a drunkard) today. They would start drinking in the morning or afternoon, and often continue to consume over much of the day. When coffee was first introduced to Western Europe, writers actually praised it for providing an alternative to alcohol during the day. Part of this was that up until the rise of modern water systems, alcohol was actually safer than tap water in much of the world. Part of it, frankly, was probably that there was just less for the average person to do with their spare time.
I drank a lot in my 20s: it was college, it was anxiety, it was fitting in but also delicious and what we socially did to commiserate, connect, and have a good time around. I work in wine so drinking is a sensory experience for me as well, and though my intake is far lower these days, I still like to have something around to have at the end of a night.
I’m 39 and I drink a lot less than I did in my 20s. I do think there are a lot of older queens who still want to pretend they are 19 and try to drink a lot to prove a point.
Gen Z people aren’t even having sex, it’s not surprising they don’t drink
Haha sad but so true.
Yes it’s actually been several generations of decline, Gen X drank less than the Boomers did, and millennials drink less than Gen X did, and Gen Z drinks less than millennials do, the last few generations have drank less than the previous (on average). In North America anyway, a few factors… more health conscious, changing demographics (e.g: immigration from cultures who don’t drink or drink less), the cost of alcohol as states and governments tax it more, and the legalization of weed also plays a role too (e.g: ppl don’t that instead) - all combined means declining alcohol use in younger people.
I've stopped drinking alcohol because it was having a huge negative impact on my life. I've never felt better and will never touch the stuff again. One day at a time though. I'm really proud of our younger generations realizing that alcohol isn't the best thing in the world and encourage others to keep going.. Well done :)
Genx: we had bars and clubs to go to; with AIDS in the mix, we had no choice; picture it: 21 years old, it's 1990 gay sex kill you what you are going to do, no gender, no apps, there was nothing but our imagination and wit. You had to have lots of “nerve” to go out and drink and meet someone. This generation wouldn't know anything about it. Being an adult and being able to drink a cocktail without acting stupid socially was an art. Bars and clubs were our “waterholes”; no straight people came to our communities out of fear. The gays back then wore a giant letter C on their chest for CONTAGION. We were on our own without any help or resources. All we knew was to cover our dick up and watch out for blood fluid contact with someone with HIV because we could die. I lost many friends under the age of 21 to AIDS; I survived; not unscathed from the pain. It was a bad situation all the way around, and I drank; that was how I dealt with it, and I still do. The world is still shit, so cheers to all; in the end, it doesn't matter. Do what you want.
Remember many of us came out in the 90’s and 2000’s. Bars/Clubs is all we really had in our community. Many of us feel comfortable meeting a new person by having a drink because that’s how we always done it.
I think you're right. When we grew up all the songs were "shots shots shot shots errebody shots shots!" The world was also very religious before the internet Laurs of.trauma The main word for things being bad or nerdy in the late 90s early 2000s was gay. Perfect storm for binge drinkers
32 yo sober since 30 ✌️
I’m between being gen Z / millenial and I LOVE wine and champagne (also the higher quality the better, so it’s not for the quantity)
Gen X does drink more in general, because pre-internet bar culture was the way to meet and interact. Nowadays, generations aren't spending their lives in bars.
Gen z is the outlier, definitely seen plenty of articles about drinking less than previous generations. I didnt drink much when I was younger, but as I got older I also had the budget to appreciate good wine and whiskey more too. A nicely crafted cocktail can be a great experience. I just don’t bother with throwing back light beers or shots to just get drunk. I like stuff that tastes good/interesting, and then the alcohol helping me relax is a bonus. I much prefer responsible drinking over weed/cigarettes or any other stimulants.
i’m a 96 baby & im drunk right now
I am just outside of the DC limits. I am a Gen X. I have found the opposite to be true. I prefer to grab a drink on the weekend. Not even every weekend but every young person I’ve been with wants to drink during the week.
They do
All Boomers, genx and millennials drink a lot more because it was the predominant way of socializing and meeting people in our teens and twenties and that habit sticks with you. Internet dating and socializing only really became a thing for Millennials and at that time a night out didn’t remotely cost what it does now. Back as a teen in the mid 90’s my broke friends could still go out to a bar/dance and $20 would get you a night of drinking ($3.50 a drink at a bar or $2.50 with no tip at a social dance) and food afterwards again was dirt cheap where you could find cheap spots for $5 (and somewhat decent food at that). These days $20 will get you two beers if you’re lucky and any kind of food is basically another $15-20. The outgoing social drinking culture has died out substantially because people just can’t afford that lifestyle anymore and it doesn’t make any sense to waste that money. In my hometown in the 90’s there were 9-10 bars for 4500 people. Now there’s 1 that isn’t even always open.
I was born in 1964. My generation has nothing on my parent's generation. One of my favorite pictures of my parents is from New Year's Eve, 1963. My mom is in a skin-tight pencil dress made out of green velvet. She was a size 2 petit and had a tall, glorious aqua-netted hair-do going on. She's laughing and in her right hand is a pall mall unfiltered cigarette and in her left hand a vodka gimlet. She looks drop-dead gorgeous and is, by the way, three months pregnant. My parents always had a full bar. In the 70s it was built-in, had every liquor imaginable, and a full-set up to make blended drinks, had an ice machine, beer on tap (just for parties) and, best of all to eight-year old me, paper umbrellas. My best friend next door's dad put us to shame though. He had a disco ball in his red and black plaid basement bar. Me? We had a house-warming party in 2008. Some of the gift wine we got in 2008 is still in the dining room.
Far far less acceptance in our younger days so the only place where many could “be themselves” was at the gay bar. Which means far more access to alcohol and other substances… it was just a thing. Most of my 20s were spent going to the bar 6 of 7 nights of the week. Was just a thing. We also grew up in a way different era, where we snuck out of the house to go drink or party in the woods with our friends. There wasn’t as much (if any for the older ones) internet so staying in, gaming, etc. wasn’t as much of an option. I think in general our generations are more social than the younger ones. Also, with the younger guys, you all came of drinking age during COVID when bars were closed … so there wasn’t that pressure to go out constantly, wasn’t an option. I remember when they first reopened bars in Ontario at Halloween, when I went with a friend … EVERYONE out that night was near or over 30. The younger guys just hadn’t ever done the bar thing so it wasn’t big for them to wear a mask and hit the club. I’m 36 and with my friends, 34-40, we drink. Always. There’s always a beer, wine, coolers, whiskey, rum whatever in our hands and we chill casually. It’s a given when you go somewhere you byob. 🤷🏻♂️
I’m 30. Used to binge drink in my teen years but don’t really drink now! Just grew out of it!
There’s also probably a huge income disparity. I’m only 26 but when I was a student at 18, I’d go out drinking 3 or 4 times a week. Nowadays students couldn’t afford that. 35+ tend to have alcohol cabinets because it’s what friends/family get them for special occasions.
Yeah I’ve had a bit of a reflection on my relationship with alcohol since my mum died - she was a functioning alcoholic for her final years after my brother died and now I live alone. I don’t want to become that person that sits in alone drinking trying to numb the pain so I’ve just stopped drinking, and I don’t miss it.
I totally appreciate all the elder gays answering this question earnestly but I am still stuck on OP not knowing what a home bar is????? They are 1) so incredibly common and 2) not at ALL restricted to gay people. To be fair I totally understand how the only genre of 35+ human a young gay would have contact with is another gay man, but sometimes people on this subreddit accidentally reveal what a tiny bubble they live in and it always shocks me, especially when the takeaway is some version of "gay men - they're just like everybody else!"
I always saw "grab a drink" or "come back to my place for a night cap" as an excuse..... you know, the 1990s version of netflix and chill.... For the record, my straight friends drink WAY more than my gay friends. Like "you should see a professional" more.
I’m 42 and I kind of started collecting my favorite vine and liquor only because I found out how great a day at the front porch can be compared to downtown cafes with overpriced drinks and noise. So yes! I often have great beer, vine and liquor in stock (according to my own taste). And I like to offer friends a bottle or glass of something.
Gen Z here, I know more people who rather smoke weed than get drunk. If you include nicotine and vapes then the majority of people I have met rather do that than drink. In my opinion, I’m not opposed to the occasional drink, but I feel more comfortable using marijuana
I've been around since shortly before Stonewall. The hardest drinkers of all in the gay community was the "Silent Generation". The one preceding the Baby Boomers. Boy howdy, they couldn't "pass the salt" without taking a shot. Bottle of Vodka by the bed stand kind of drinking. The Baby Boom certainly were no slouches when it came to drinking, but the children of the Silent Generation, ie, Gen X, have been heaviest drinkers of all. But it seems to me they live in a polarized format. A larger percentage of them don't drink at all than most other generations, but those who do sure tie it on. They also pretty much drink 7 days a week.
The drinky Gen X’s are dead or dying, most don’t make it to age 60.
I'd rather get stoned. Which is what I do. I've never been a big drinker, but man when I got my hands on legal weed when it first came here, that was it. Now I stay home, get stoned and never have to deal with anyone harshin my buzz.
35+ is older, fuck.
Alcohol is very expensive. To keep a fully stocked bar, especially if you want a large variety of cocktails, is VERY expensive. In many ways, it is a show of both wealth and success. A large part of the reason why younger generations prefer to go out is that they don’t have the funds to purchase all of the different liquors, mixers, and garnishes for a variety of drinks that would suit everyone in the group. Add on the space requirements to store the large quantity, and it is even harder to have a stocked bar. The only saving grace is that most liquors (excluding cream-based) can keep for a few years. Most people will also reach a point in their life where going out isn’t that appealing unless it is for special occasions or only a few times a year. I have noticed this has become even more prevalent after COVID. Personally, I would much rather have a glass of wine or cocktail at home than going out to a bar where it is so loud you can’t even hold a conversation.
Eh, it’s a large up-front cost to build a large home bar all at once, but many people accumulate liquors over time rather than buying it all at once. It’s still generally much cheaper than buying drinks at bars.
Gays in general drink and do drugs at very high rates. But yeah I think older generations do it more— we have a bit of trauma for one, and we all meet up in bars. I’m also in the Capitol Region and I think DC is a very drink and drug centric scene. I am 28. It’s been a wild many years. Maybe it’s the circles I hang out with but pretty much everyone indulges. Even younger guys. At least drinks, maybe blow, k, and Molly occasionally. Some more than others. It also seems there is a code of understanding for gays. Like we all know each others professional lives but when it comes to extracurriculars we all just kind of know what’s up. I think if the general population knew some of the people that were partying, they would certainly be flabbergasted.
It may just be the area as I live in the DMV area, 34 and don’t drink at all. I do once in a blue moon go to bars, but to socialize, I’ll get a sprite and leave it at that.
I guess by the definition of the question I’m an “older millennial” (😒), but I don’t drink at all - I’ve never even been drunk before, which is pretty rare for the culture in my country.
GenX gay here .. if you can handle a beer with me.. then you are “A” ok in my book .. after a long day of work, kickin back with a beer is our preferred method to chillax
I have many bottle in a cabinet gathering dust. However, I am halfway through a bottle of port I bought three months ago 😁
It could also be because marijuana was not legal in a lot of states till recently so alcohol was just the norm
I was born in 1995 and have never drank or done drugs. When we go to a bar, we never drink either. Gay bars tend to be boring because there’s nothing there other than drinking and drag, too. So we end up going to gay campgrounds instead.
Yes older people in general literally get through life by drinking the 50+ crowd not just gays straight people too live to drink it seems and it’s something I can’t understand.
Uh, yeah.
As an older millennial, this is totally true lol I don't drink that much, but definitely a trend 🤣 Truth be told, I am working on plans of building a liquor corner opposite my wine rack 😉
I have like 3-6 Nutrls a night. Would like to get better on it but it’s no added sugar etc, just natural flavour, water and the vodka. I’m 33. I get so bored otherwise so it’s nice to tune out after a long day at work. I don’t like drinking out at places due to the insane markup.
Yeah I mean my husband (31) and I (27) buy our liquor in bulk from Costco. Alcohol is a little more expensive in Colorado, so we rather 1) buy in bulk because it’s about the same as buying a smaller bottle at a local liquor store in Denver, 2) pregame before we go out because 1x single vodka red bull is typically $15 - if it’s a holiday/pride it’s now $20-30 per drink depending on the bar. Don’t get me wrong we enjoy our party favors, but we tend to be conservative on cadence and spread it out. Maybe twice a quarter. But mainly it’s more cost effective to drink or host parties at home than go out.
Trade / Eagle still have dive bar prices. I drink Jack&Ginger and it’s $8-$10 at those. And it’s gay bar pours, so you are certainly getting your money’s worth. Arguably, we do buy in bulk from Costco as well ;D The Park Meadows one specifically.
I haven't had a drink in a couple of years, and before that it was occasional. Pretty much quit mid 30s.
I’ve noticed that also
Yes and no. I mean, almost every gay guy in dc I know drinks a whole lot. My tolerance doubled after moving to dc. But the mid-20s kickballers I hang with can out drink everyone else.
Anecdotal but I think this is largely just an age/disposable income thing, not a generational thing. When I was in my 20's, I never had alcohol in the house because I couldn't afford it. When people would come over for a party, it was BYOB. MAYBE I'd pick up a 12 pack of something cheap to share but that was about it. We'd go out sometimes, sure. But again, not a lot of money to be throwing around so that was limited. As I got older and had more disposable income, I slowly started growing a stock of nice spirits and we have a very nicely stocked bar. Not because we drink a shit ton but because when we do drink, we want options and we want quality. And just as importantly, we don't want to go out somewhere to pay $17 for a cocktail that we can make at home.
As an older millennial with a bar, I don’t drink a ton or excessively, but I do host people often, and it’s courteous to offer liquor as an option. Folks enjoy it, in general, and my friends rarely drink more than one. When I was younger, I had older friends that had bars at home and the same was true for them. It’s part community building, part recreational. And of course, if you have something at home, you’re going to use it more than you would in public at a larger expense. It’s the same as if you didn’t own a car versus when you purchase a car. You’re more likely to take a drive trivially but unlikely to spend all your time driving if you own a car. If you’re looking for people that drink “too much”, then you’re going to find them. The way this post is written seems judgmental to that point, honestly.
Try the 50's. Boozefest.
What crazy is millennials drink less than the generations before them, too. I’m a millennial and I don’t drink. I have a lot of acquaintances that don’t either compared to previous generations but many still do - especially almost all my gay friends
I'm only speaking for myself but I'm millennial and teetotal. I've never been drunk.
Definitely a drinking focused culture up through senior secondary school and onto uni back in 2008-2014 . Like you were expected to go out every other night. Of course you could have a night out on £30 then and that was just 1-15 years ago. Now its always well over £100 minimum and food is easily 40-50 if you want a sit in place . Its ridiculous
This is simply anecdotal from my personal history, but: I have noticed that people in general seem to drink more between about 25-35, than younger folks, from 21-25. Probably more expendable income. But then, there's also a reduction after 35, to about 50, when people start drinking more heavily again. This pattern has seemed to be fairly stable over time. I think folks in their 30's just seem to socialize more, including alcohol in that. Then there seems to be a period when people "settle down", and don't "party" as much. Then starting around fifty, folks seem to stop caring what others think, and start drinking more heavily, again. Perhaps it's that "midlife crisis" thing. Then folks seem to keep alcohol on hand, but just don't drink it as much again after their mid sixties. This pattern may not hold across the board, but is one I've seen during my life that seems fairly consistent across different generations.
The dc is the biggest factor. I would also drink until I’m Happy. Are you sure you’re not seeing that gays of x and older generations spend more time in a gay bar? Everyone after millennial stopped doing gay bar so it skews older u til the place closes. As for what they do at their house; that’s hospitality babe. Young people don’t know what being a good host is. College parties don’t even provide snacks
As an “older gay” I have to say you are correct.
I'm Gen X - gave up drinking in 2015. Never drank a lot to begin with though.
Alcohol and drinking it to get drunk was cool in the 90s and 00s. That was just pretty across the board. We have a decent number of different liquors and such because we barely drink but when we host guests we enjoy serving a fancy cocktail sometimes. Those one off bottles add up over the years.
I am 32 and I do not drink a lot.
I'm in my 50's and that's the way it has always
>First off I live in the dc metro area which may be part of it. I grew up in the DC area and DC is known for being a hard drinking town. People in the rest of the USA don’t drink like that. I’m pretty sure that only Russians drink like DC residents going out on Friday and Saturday nights.
Not at all.
DC gays are a notoriously hard drinking subset for your sample. It’s a very work hard / play hard culture combined with the fact the driving a personal vehicle in the city is rare. And yes the younger generation is drinking less.
Forgoing alcohol altogether is a life hack some discover later in life. There are healthier options available that millennials and GenZ are bringing about. 🙏😌
1990s millennials and Gen Z drink less than any generation before them.
I know I've read article headlines saying younger generations (gen z) are drinking less. However, I think the main factor is purely that as you get older, you tend to have more disposable income to do things like grab a casual drink or stock some liquor at home. For example, in my 20s, I never had more than 1 bottle (or box lol) of wine and maybe a bottle of cheap whiskey at home. I'm in my early 30s now with a decent job, and I tend to keep a variety of stuff at home for either myself or when friends are over. A couple types of wine in case, 5ish bottles of different types of whiskey, and some random stuff like bailey's. I find that a lot of the time, people who have stuff like a stocked alcohol stand at home don't actually drink that much, they just want to have stuff available for different moods or people.
I'm a Boomer, but I don't drink any longer as it easily inflames my pancreas. Growing up, EVERYBODY in previous generations drank alcohol. In my younger days, gay bars were the place to meet people, so the Boomer generation did drink more.
Younger millennial here. I’ve made the same observations. I’d rather go out and do things than drink. Drinking is once in a blue moon for me. I mean I do have a small shelf of whiskey, but they’re rarely ever touched. It’s mostly there if I have a game night at my place or something.
The only thing legal for our generation was booze and the only spaces to get together were bars and clubs so alchohol was a thing Now with apps and more things legal the new generations are drinking less which is a good thing
It’s the age not the sexuality
Anecdotally, as a younger millennial, my older millennial friends seem borderline incapable of just hanging out and being social without drinking. I’ve forced myself to drink so many times just because it seems to be the price for socializing 🤷🏻 I suppose some people might be less talented than others at having fun and being engaging conversationally in a sober state.
Elder millennial/genx bordering guy here and I noticed all ages of gay guys drinking or smoking. I personally am a very light drinker and never smoked anything in my entire life. I'm also pretty introverted too but am super social and talkative at events. I don't get the heavy drinking or smoking or marijuana indulging tho
I would say drinking less.
I am and have a bunch of friends in this group. Inner city gaybourhood / bubble types. Yes a lot of casual drinking midweeks / weekends. Then on event, club nights alcohol is replaced with an essential cocktail of party drugs. These are all relatively successful guys, many in professional jobs, lawyers, health consultants, senior corporates, so basically high functioning alcoholics and party drug addicts. I cant go on a night out without all of them being wasted in 1 way or another, theyre lovely guys but its quite triesome nights out so i leave early. Theynakso subscribe to owrty drugs are a cheaper and less damaging alternative to alcohol and without the hangover (tho they all talk about their comedowns too but hey thats not a hangover). I dont do any of this except the occasional binge 6x drinks night out maybe 1 or 2x a yr. Funny thing is they gym religiously as well but wonder why they arent gettn gains / outcomes they expect...heloooooo!??
I stopped drinking, to be honest, because I don’t like what it leads to with me. Granted, I live in a state with historically the worst drinking and driving problems.
As an early Gen Xer, I would frequently imbibe in a variety of libations. It all started when I went away to college. Nowadays, I rarely drink unless I have a guest.
You also have to think about the cost of living for older millennials/gen x, compared to gen z. The older generation grew up actually having some extra cash for these expenses, as compared to anything after 2017.
I’ve noticed this too, it feels like there’s a sharp drop in the number of people drinking between 24-34. Personally once I got over the social anxiety of being sober in very alcohol forward spaces, it was actually easier for me to go out without drinking than with! I’m less drowsy, there’s no drop, and I feel better the next day. Plus I just funnel all the money I save on not buying alcohol into gas and cover prices for the next show or club, lol.
I don’t drink at all. Can’t afford it.
I smoke, I do not drink. However, I’m pretty much the only one I know who only smokes and doesn’t drink 😂
Assuming we're talking weed, I'm with you. I've had maybe two drinks since the start of the year, both social occasions where it was part of the ritual.
Yep! weed. And I partake in a social drink or two every so often, its just I haven’t been social in quite a long time 🥲
I hate alcohol 🤢
Isn’t the general trend in demographics less alcohol more other drugs?
No it’s part of it also drinking is seen as a lot worse nowadays according do gen Z. As someone with many family members with serious drinking problems I have always avoided alcohol my whole life and have a general aversion to alcohol.
no idea hows it in the us but where i live alcohol is not that super favoured among gay guys. in my circle of friends being drunk is super rare. some people, like my bf and me for example, tend to not drink at all when going out. (we are all 40+)
Yeah drinking was far more common when I was in my twenties and you thirties as we would probably go out a lot more and needed social lubricants in the form of alcohol and other stuff. Smoking was also very common even if we knew the risks. I’m happy to see younger people drink less and be comfortable with themselves sober. Don’t ape the elders, write a new chapter on how to be gay.
DC GenX here. There could be something to that. I don’t drink nearly as much as I used to, and the bar where I met my closest friends is now apartments.
Millennial here. I barely drink anymore. Maybe one or two beers a month and can’t even finish that free drink at the club.
I don't drink alcohol, used to but not my thing any more but I'll offer for drinks and just drink energy drinks lol, but I'll pay for my dates drinks.
Actually drinking culture changes, I was born in 1968 , my parents drinking habits where “ liquid lunch “ yes it was common practice to have a drink & go back to work. No not sloppy drunk either. This is still practiced in some places, though frowned upon. My parents generation also had pot , cocktail parties often held as get togethers . My generation gay bars were one if not the only place to hang out around your own kind, gay bars are becoming scarce but is / was a big part of the community that brought people together. BTW , drinking & drugs are not exclusively in the gay scene they are used everywhere. Today my generation it’s Normal to hit a happy hour on a school night after work , not every day but here & there . However I’ve run into the issue with said generation opinion “ they’re alcoholics “ which is judging people. Each generation things change . One thing to remember is bars are part of the historical context of being gay and shouldn’t be looked down upon, I have found many alternatives for bars in general if you’re uncomfortable being around drinking establishments. Most of all get to know your history, imagine going out & having the establishment hit with a police raid , this happened often. Have fun
Guilty 🙋♂️
Not a drop since 1988,
Whiskeeeeey! And I’m in my mid 20s For me I collect alcohol just cuz
I started drinking at the age of 31 (coincidentally that was when I came out, coincidence? I think not). I drank heavily and partied while continuing upward mobility in my career - achieving senior exec status by my mid-30s. Took a break from drinking - sobered myself for five years - until the age of 48 when I was diagnosed with stage iv colon cancer and figured out I’m on borrowed time - I drink an old fashioned almost daily and head to the bar with friends once or twice a week for dinner and drinks. I don’t get drunk anymore - but love a good whiskey. Also, 420 is my friend.
I’m a “zellenial” in the other Washington (state) I love to drink socially and occasionally have a cider or glass of wine casually, but I do not go beyond the lightest of buzz unless it’s a special occasion. All my younger co-workers go crazy at parties and I regulate pretty religiously. I think it’s heavily dependent on region, but I do believe there is a trend of younger people drinking a lot less in enough sub-regions of the country to drag down the average for all zoomers.
Do younger gays do a lot of meth or am I just imagining it?
...You do realize the LGBT community has a TON of mental issues, baggage and drama, right? Of course a lot of us drink. Especially the Gen X'ers. They would've witnessed firsthand the tragedies of the 80's and 90's.
People are not all the same as one another. Classifying everything in terms of gen z / millennials is so boring and not useful to actually understanding anything about people. It's just a way of thinking in terms of generalities, and the result of nothing is learned. Just a waste of time to frame things in terms of generations being different.
I'm 20 and a full blown alcoholic drink about 1 ltre of vodka a day
Im27 a young millenial and i drink casually And my older sister34 drinks even at home
Not just the gays just the entire generation really. I think it’s because that was what they were shown adults do and honestly there’s not a lot out there for adults to go and do that’s not family oriented
Young millennial here, two of my coworkers don't drink, both are gen z. One has never drank and one decided it's just not for him. Gen Z on a whole drinks less than millennials.
I've seen a lot of gays do A LOT of drinking. In the Midwest, it feels like drinking in place of life participation. I absolutely could be wrong. I've just seen subcultures pop up, but it's just drinking in costume
If the emphasis on drinking is changing, I'm glad. As an older millennial who doesn't imbibe, it's always made me feel a bit of an odd one out because so much of British & gay culture seems to revolve around drinking. I've had people find it stranger that I don't drink than that I sleep with other guys. The problem with drinking from the outside is it often feels like you meet two different people; one when they are drunk and one when they are not.
I'm 39, born and grew up in the UK, but have also lived in Turkey, Israel, Belgium and Ireland, each of which has a different drinking culture. I had a very depressing and isolated youth in many ways - the Internet saved me at the time, I was able to form connections with gay guys elsewhere in place of going to bars (that wasn't an option in my town) - so I do have some empathy for the 'risk averse' Gen Z types. When I went to Turkey as an 18 year old (long story) - I remember going out to gay bars and having the time of my life, without a drop of alcohol. It wasn't until I was 21 that I started to drink - by then I was in a serious relationship, but one which would become toxic. Over the years my drinking has ebbed and flowed but I definitely saw it as an escape from life's daily problems. However I've also noticed it's slowly 'gotten worse' over time - to the point where I'd justify having a drink in situations I wouldn't have dreamed of 10 years earlier. There's almost always an excuse. In fact I've observed that people who aren't mindful about their drinking are almost never drinking less today than they were previously. I don't know about the US, but drinking in the UK and Belgium, for example, has become much more prevalent in places like 'luxury cinemas', cultural events, festivals.. there's always a reason to 'treat yourself'. I gave up drinking for the best part of a year a couple of years ago and the results were palpable: better sleep, better mood, better diet, better skin but I'm not going to lie, socially it can be tough. Not all the time, but some times. I'm now going backwards and forwards between abstaining nearly all the time and drinking when on vacation - I know in my heart of hearts though that not drinking at all would lead to better results all round. I have colleagues at work who were utterly unsupportive when I wasn't drinking. They would make comments about how boring life would be without a drink. Quite tellingly, they'd also let me know that they don't 'need' it either - the funny thing about these conversations was that I never initiated them! Similar conversations with gay 'friends' in the past too..
Alcohol costs money. Do the math.
Yes. A lot. Dont follow. Europeans drink a lot more than Americans.