Re: Please Don’t Call My Drink “Girly”

It’s amazing how much can change in little more than one year. When I first wrote “Please Don’t Call My Drink ‘Girly,’” thirteen or fourteen months ago, I was in a very different mental place in terms of security in my own gender presentation and my preferences in alcoholic drinks. I am now definitely more comfortable with my drink preferences and more sure in the knowledge that what I drink doesn’t change who I am.

Please Don’t Call My Drink “Girly”

EXPLORING TRANS – TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010, 1:33 AM

Today was the boat cruise. Every year, after all papers and exams are done, the seniors at my college have a tradition on going on a dinner cruise on the river with some of the favorite faculty and staff. This was it, and overall, it was awesome.

Parts of it were less awesome. My friend looked at our drinks (she had a Sex On The Beach; another friend and I both had Cosmopolitans) and said, “We’re so girly!” Awesome. Great. Thanks. So not what I want to hear. The next drink I ordered was a vodka tonic.

Is Gin the Answer To My Cocktail Dilemma?

I’ve recently been having a bit of a dilemma when ordering a drink at a restaurant. I usually either get something really fruity, especially if it has Grey Goose La Poire, for which I have rather a weakness . . . or Jack Daniels on the rocks (because I like how it tastes, because it reminds me of people I miss, because it’s oddly easy to drink, for all that it’s just whiskey and ice). Unfortunately, I’ve been not really feeling the super sweet drink thing recently, and I always feel a little silly ordering just Jack Daniels when I’m out because I could buy it for cheaper, and usually, when I’m out and having a drink, I try to get something I can’t make myself. 

I Like Fruity Drinks

French Martini at Clarke's (aka My Fabulously Fruity Drink)

I like fruity drinks. No, seriously, I really, really do. Sure, I’ll drink a beer, or a glass of a decent wine, or a vodka tonic , or a Jack and coke, or something like that — and it’ll be good and fine and whatever. But if I can pick whatever I want, it’ll almost inevitably be something fruity. Fruit-flavored vodkas, fruit liqueurs, fruit juices, actual bits of fresh fruit — you name it, if it’s something fruity, I’ll probably want to order it.

And mostly, that’s fine. I know what I like; that’s a good thing, right? The only problem is that fruity drinks are almost inevitably read as “girly” drinks. And that is incredibly unfortunate (and unfair!).