Gingerbeer was a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based

virtual community A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual commu ...

for

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

women. The name "Gingerbeer" (

Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

for "

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

") referred to both the web site, and to the community, which it supported. It was maintained and moderated entirely by a team of

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

. Gingerbeer was initially launched on 1 January 2000, and underwent two subsequent relaunches, firstly on 25 June 2001 and later on 11 November 2005, following a major redesign. Gingerbeer became an official

not-for-profit organisation A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NPO ...

in March 2004, when it was registered as a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

by guarantee. The site's main feature was a highly active messageboards forum, with over 2,000 registered members in May 2007. In the eighteen months to the end of May 2007, they logged over 335,000 posts in over 5000 topics or discussion threads. One of the distinctive features of the messageboards was that they supported an active calendar of social, cultural and sporting events across the UK, so that Gingerbeer existed as both a web community and a real-life community. Besides the messageboards, Gingerbeer offered listings of bars, clubs and community events, reviews, and a London guide. Gingerbeer was recommended as a useful resource for lesbians by some travel guides.Bay Area Reporter, Vol 37, No 22
London, England: Europe's 'gay' capital
31 May 2007 Gingerbeer ceased to exist in November 2018.

References

External links

Gingerbeer
{{LGBT social networking services Defunct LGBTQ organisations in the United Kingdom Lesbian-related websites LGBTQ social networking services

See also

References

External links