Articles by Bent Alaska
Bent Alaska is Alaska's LGBTQA blog founded by E. Ross in March 2008 and now edited (as of October 2011) by Melissa S. (Mel) Green.
Anchorage Town Hall 2 to be held Monday
The first Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall in August was a resounding success. Now it’s time for a second one! Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall 2 will be held Monday, October 3 at the A Street Event Hall.
Our purpose is community building & information sharing in the LGBTQA* community of Anchorage. Unlike our first meeting, we have no restrictions re: blogs/newsies writing about this meeting before, during, after.
The convenors for Town Hall 2 are Mel Green, Mary Elizabeth Rider, Maureen McGlone, Michael Mason, Doug Frank, Sara Gavit, Heather Aronno, John Aronno, and Marcia Barnes. Sara Gavit will facilitate the meeting.
On the agenda:
- An open forum.
- Introducing more of the groups and activities in our community, including: West High GSA, The Family at UAA, Grrlzlist, Bent Alaska, and a preview of Alaska Pride Conference 2011 to be held in mid-October.
- An update on the One Anchorage campaign from Trevor Storrs.
- Should we have more Town Halls? How often? What about? What would you want to discuss?
- Plus, an opportunity to connect & talk with each other.
We look forward to seeing you there!
(*LGBTQA = lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, and non-LGBTQ allies).
- Date/time: Monday, October 3, 2011
- Location: A Street Event Hall, 637 A Street, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- RSVPs: We appreciate RSVPs but they’re not required. Spur of the moment decisions to attend are welcome!
- Further info: see Facebook event page or EventBrite event page. We can be reached by email at lgbtqapartnership@gmail.com, or see our Facebook group.
Thank you to Doug of the Kodiak Bar & Grill for allowing us to use this hall! Do you have an event you’d like to rent the A Street Event Hall for? Contact Doug at 727-1094.
Escape to Gilligan’s Island this Sunday with the 39th Emperor & Empress
Their Most Imperial Majesties, Denali Emperor Kevin Fawcett-Majors and Aurora Empress MariQuita of the Imperial Court of All alaska, invite every single one of you to:
Investitures of the 39th Reign:
ESCAPE to Gilligan’s Island!
Become a part of Reign 39: Will YOU be the next Prince of the Pribilofs? Earn your title! Buy your title! Bribe someone for a title! STEAL your title! It’s all in good fun! Costume contest: the winners get….A TITLE!
- Date/time: Sunday, October 2, 2011, 5:30 pm
- Location: Mad Myrna’s, 530 E. 5th Ave. in downtown Anchorage (see map)
- Cost of admission: $5 cover, with ALL proceeds benefiting the Imperial Court of All Alaska!
The Imperial Court of All Alaska (ICOAA) is an Alaska LGBTQA not-for-profit which over its lifetime has raised over a million dollars for scholarships and charity.
Follies of Dollies this Saturday in Fairbanks
We invite you to please join us for a night of racy fun, as only the Haus oF Fusion, AnARoX Productions, and Cabaret Noir-Burlesque can bring together!
as we continue the annual tradition of “FOLLIES OF DOLLIES” … illusion is the fusion element of the night! This show will benefit The Richard Welch Memorial Scholarship Fund 2012 (student application information at show).
Follies of Dollies is an “age old” tradition in Fairbanks drag/illusion, started by Rochelle DeLite & many queens that carried it through the years with style and class. It’s always meant to be a grand fun night of camp and naughtiness.
Featuring the very best of Fairbank “Club Queens & Kings” —
- Beyonca Fusion* of The Haus oF Fusion
- Shug Delmontague
- Michelle Diamond
- Jasmine MizzBarbie Davenport
- Kelly D.
- plus more being added & updated here!
Also performing are the luscious ladies of Cabaret Noir-Burlesque and the delish vocal stylings of Kelly Wade aka Helly Spade!
Haus oF Fusion continues the tradition hosting this event for the second year and hopes to honor it well, keeping the party going with a bow to the past & a “Sashay” to the future!
This is a glbtiq&a inclusive event/secured h8 free zone. There will also be an after-party to celebrate DADT repeal!
- Date/time: Saturday, September 24, 9 PM to 1 AM
- Location: Lower LA (the private lounge downstairs from Los Amigos), 636 28th Ave, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: $10 @ door. limited $15 VIP seating available, call/text (907)322-5242 to reserve.
- Further info: see Facebook events page
The Daily Show covers the repeal of DADT
“A Few Gay Men”: Jon Stewart and Jason Jones of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show report on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Gay in AK: LGBT in Anchorage and the State — a community panel at UAA Constitution Week 2011
As part of UAA Constitution Week 2011, University of Alaska Anchorage will present a community panel Friday, September 23 which will explore the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights as it relates to the Alaska and United States Constitutions. The panel will feature leaders who have advocated for equal rights in front of Alaska’s courts, the Anchorage Assembly, and the University of Alaska Board of Regents.
Sugarbuzz, a friend & fundraiser for Identity — Saturday in Anchorage
Following the kd lang and Wanda Sykes concerts in Anchorage Saturday, meet and greet your friends at ORSO for Sugarbuzz, a friend and fundraiser for Identity. And who knows, you might even meet kd and Wanda, who will be getting personal invitations to join us along with their crew.
UAA celebrates DADT repeal on September 20
It’s not a post-DADT world yet, but it will be after September 20 — and University of Alaska Anchorage will be celebrating! Wear camo and join the UAA students and veterans as we celebrate the end of this discriminatory legislation. We’ll be at the Student Union with pizza and other resources.
Why September 20? It marks 60 days after the formal certification of DADT repeal by President Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — and as passed by Congress, the repeal bill required that wait before DADT could finally end.
Other celebrations will be going on around the country: check Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) for details. If you’re in the service, see SLDN’s new guide to the post-DADT military, Freedom to Serve: The Definitive Guide to LGBT Military Service.
- Date/time: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
12:00 noon to 1:00 PM8am-11am - Location: UAA Student Union, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Further info: See SLDN event page
One Anchorage Community Forum to be held this Wednesday
On September 1, 2011, Equality Works launched the One Anchorage Campaign, a ballot initiative campaign to place an initiative on the April 2012 municipal ballot in Anchorage to add sexual orientation and transgender identity to Anchorage’s equal rights code. This follows on an equal rights ordinance which passed the Anchorage Assembly in 2009 by a vote of 7–4, only to be vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan.
The One Anchorage Campaign will hold a community form on the ballot initiative Wednesday, September 14 to speak directly with members of the LGBTQ community, answer questions, and hear suggestions.
To RSVP or if you have any questions about the Community Forum please contact Johnathan Jones at 263-2006 or jjones@oneanchorage.com.
- Date/time: Wednesday, September 14. Doors open 6:00 PM, program begins 6:30 PM
- Location: Waldron Hall, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 2222 East Tudor Rd (near the corner of Lake Otis and Tudor) (see map)
- Further info: see Equality Works website or Bent Alaska’s blog post
It got better: A gay youth’s gratitude
Earlier today, Box Turtle Bulletin posted a video today from a gay teenager named Dylan thanking a gay couple for their “It Gets Better” YouTube video.
Zack Ford at Think Progress tells us more:
Dylan found an “It Gets Better” video from YouTube user “depfox,” gay couple Jay and Bryan Leffew with their kids Daniel and Selena. Through the Leffew family, Dylan saw that he didn’t have to pray away the gay or repress his identity. He could, in fact, grow up to have the loving family that he has dreamed of.
Watch (and be sure to read the comments on Dylan’s YouTube page):
Zack Ford continues,
Since posting his thank-you to the Leffews last month, he has since made a follow-up video telling his own coming out story in which he also talks about how important Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns’ video was for him as he was figuring out his identity. Dylan’s journey is far from over, because though he came out to the world at large on YouTube, he still hasn’t talked to his family about his identity. Still, by coming out, he is already on a better path.
Is it fair to suggest that IGB saved Dylan’s life? Yes. Nobody will ever know what his story might have been, but if some Internet videos helped him avoid a life of denial, depression, and psychologically harmful ex-gay therapy, that is surely a victory. It’s pretty hard to call something “useless” that has saved a life, and it would be foolish to assume Dylan is alone. “It Gets Better” is making it better one video at a time just by being there for young eyes to see. Keep them coming.
Dan Savage has described “It Gets Better” as a “message in a bottle” to LGBT and questioning youth. Sometimes that message makes all the difference.
Tina Beltz (1979–2011)
We were saddened to learn of the death of Tina Beltz in a traffic accident in Manhattan, Montana on August 31. A celebration of her life will be held this Saturday, September 10 at 2 PM at the Covenant Church in Wasilla. We offer our condolences to her fiancée, family, friends, and all who knew her.
