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.
Sara’s News Roundup 8/7/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Prop 8 trial returns Sept. 6
California, 365Gay.com, August 1, 2011
2) Liberals push for end to sex change sterilisation
Sweden, The Local, August 11, 2011
3) Dolly Parton Apologizes for Gay T-Shirt Incident at Dollywood Splash Country
Knoxville, TN, ABC News, July 29, 2011
4) Gay marriage: awkward issue for some GOP hopefuls
New York, 365Gay.com, August 1, 2011
5) New Book Explores Coco Chanel’s Bisexual Romances
Advocate, August 01, 2011
6) Single people relegated to second-class status
Washington Blade, August 4, 2011
7) Gender Neutrality: Could Facebook Be Next?
Advocate, August 1, 2011
8) Two minority groups with a lot in common
Washington Blade, July 28, 2011
9) Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gay Community
AboutDeafness.com, June 27, 2011
10) Adam Lambert Is Proud of Being Gay
Advocate, August 4, 2011
11) Lucille Ball Found Gay Rights “Perfectly All Right”
Advocate, August 6, 2011
Sara’s News Roundup 7/31/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) New Study: Support for Gay Marriage Grew Faster in Past Two Years
US News and World Report, July 27, 2011
2) Lesbian couple are Norway heroes
SameSame, July 26, 2011
3) Lesbian soldier Cammermeyer ‘Serving in Silence’ no more
Langley, Washington, Seattle PI, July 26, 2011
4) Pioneering LGBT Ministry Debunks ‘Pray the Gay Away’ with Debut Film
Angeles, Calif., Rainbow Times, July 24, 2011 Newswire
5) Gay couple asked to reverse shirt at Dollywood
Dollywood, Tenn., Associated Press, July 27, 2011
6) Group Targets California’s LGBT Education Law
California, Advocate, July 27, 2011
7) When They Play Women, It’s Not Just an Act
New York Times, July 28, 2011
8) SLDN Releases Freedom to Serve Guide, Re-launches Online Site
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, July 28, 2011
9) Wedding Expert: NY’s Gay and Lesbian Comedians Riff on Marriage
365Gay.com, July 24, 2011
10) Pregnant man Thomas Beatie reveals buff body, ripped abs in new photos after baby number three
Oregon, New York Daily News, July 27, 2011
11) Gay Ski Week ‘fantastic’
Ontago, New Zealand, Ontago Daily News, August 1, 2011
Things I have learned this year as Grand Duke XVIII
What is it really like to hold your first title in the Imperial Court of All Alaska? A few weeks before the step-down Ducal Ball, Fairbanks Grand Duke Lynnette wrote a list of lessons she learned during the year as Duke of Fairbanks. Although it’s specific to her reign, many of the lessons are true for titleholders in general.
Dukes, duchesses, queens, & divas in Fairbanks this weekend
The Fairbanks Ducal Ball XIX is on Saturday, and they’re starting the day with a big splash — rafting the Chena River with Queens and Divas! Have fun on the river, enjoy the last great show by Duke Lynnette and Duchess Kara after a fantastic year, and welcome the new Duke and Duchess of Fairbanks.
Trans driver license lawsuit: Privacy & equal protection
Jillian T. Weiss, J.D., Ph.D., analyzes the legal issues of privacy and equal protection in the ACLU’s brief in K.L. v. State of Alaska, which involves Alaska DMV’s denial of a transgender woman’s driver’s license with a correct gender marker without proof of a surgical sex change.
Sara’s News Roundup 7/24/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Historic anti-DOMA hearing at the Senate airs pro-, anti-gay sides
Washington, 365Gay.com, July 23, 2011
2) Transgender people to be recognised in law
Ireland, Irish Times, July 15, 2011
3) Lesbian Couples Boosting Gay Marriage Numbers
NPR, July 11, 2011
4) Up, Up and Out of the Closet: DC Comics introduces several gay superheroes including Batwoman, The Question, and Voodoo in its new line of comic books
Advocate, July 18, 2011
5) Obama Nominates Another Gay Man for Federal Bench
Washington, Advocate, July 21, 2011
6) Alaska sued in transgender driver’s license case
Juneau, Alaska, Sacramento Bee, July 18, 2011
7) Queer theologian makes the case for (radical) love ~ God as ‘Divine Top’ and other surefire feather rufflers
Gay City News, June 29, 2011
8) One-third of Methodist clergy in New England would break rules on same-sex marriages
New England, Providence Journal, July 18, 2011
9) Clay Aiken on Being a Gay Teen in the South
North Carolina, Advocate, July 22, 2011
10) NY’s ‘First Lesbian’ of Bronx ready for wedding
New York, AFP, July 22, 2011
11) North Carolina Is in for a Fight on Marriage
North Carolina, Advocate, July 1, 2011
12) Researchers Discover Sex-Change Gene
Advocate, July 21, 2011
13) N.Y. Marriage Windfall: $155M
New York, Advocate, July 23, 2011
14) Let the Outgames begin
Vancouver, Canada, Yahoo News, July 21, 2011
15) Couples wed on 1st day gay marriage is legal in NY
New York (AP), Yahoo News, July 24, 2011
This weekend in LGBTQA Alaska (7/21/11): Fairbanks Pride 2011, a Toyota for 4A’s, Summer Osborne, Hedwig, & Raja
Fairbanks celebrates Pride 2011; Four A’s needs your votes to get a Toyota; Summer Osborne performs in Fairbanks and Anchorage; and RuePaul’s Drag Race winner “Raja” appears at Anchorage’s Kodiak Bar & Grill. Those events and more, plus a preview of what’s coming up next week.
2011 ICOAA scholarship application deadline is July 31
The Imperial Court of All Alaska College of Emperors and Empresses (ICOAA) is pleased to open the 2011 ICOAA Scholarship Program. Scholarship awards are granted for the 2011/2012 academic year. Awards are based on economic need, scholastic achievement, leadership ability and contributions to the lesbian/gay community. Application is offered to Alaska residents with preference given to members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and allied (GLBTA) community.
Over the years, ICOAA’s College of Emperors and Empresses has helped numerous GLBTA Alaskan scholars to further their educations, with awards including $25,000 to 26 scholarship recipients in 2010, $48,500 to 19 recipients in 2009, and $60,000 to 25 recipients in 2008.
To qualify for an ICOAA scholarship, the applicant:
- must be an Alaska resident;
- must be fully admitted to any college, university, trade or vocational school;
- may be an incoming or continuing student;
- must meet academic/trade program’s satisfactory academic progress criteria;
- must have a cumulative GPA average of at least:
2.0 for undergraduate/trade programs or
3.0 for graduate/professional programs; and - must attend at least as a half-time student.
Complete applications must be received no later than July 31, 2011, so give yourself time to mail it in time! NO Hand Delivery! NO Exceptions! Scholarship awards will be announced September 1 at Coronation.
Download an application at the ICOAA website. Questions and clarifications may be emailed to madeline@alaskalife.net.
Good luck to all the scholarship applicants. And thank you, ICOAA, for all that you’ve done to help GLBTA students in Alaska!
Lauren Potter of “Glee” in Fairbanks and Anchorage to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act
Lauren Potter of the hit Fox show Glee will be in Fairbanks tonight and in Anchorage on Thursday to help Access Alaska celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Fairbanks, she’ll also be joined by champion musher Lance Mackey.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted by Congress in 1990, is a wide-ranging civil rights law which provides similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics.
We at Bent Alaska share in celebrating the 21st anniversary of this landmark civil rights legislation. Welcome to Alaska, Lauren!
Co-sponsors of Lauren’s appearances include University of Alaska Fairbanks, State of Alaska ADA Coordinator’s Office, and Fox 7 Fairbanks.
In Fairbanks —
- Date/time: Tuesday, July 19, 6:30–9:30 PM
- Location: Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Convention Center, 813 Noble St, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free admission; donations appreciated
- Further info: see Facebook events page
In Anchorage —
- Date/time: Thursday, July 21, 6:30–9:30 PM
- Location: West Anchorage High School Auditorium, 1700 Hillcrest Drive, Anchorage (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free admission; donations appreciated
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Lauren Potter was joined by Glee‘s Jane Lynch to finish out a compelling PSA on the unacceptability of calling people by derogatory terms… including fag, including retard.
Watch. And then join the campaign to spread the word to end the word.
Alaska DMV refuses to put correct gender on drivers license; ACLU sues
The ACLU and the ACLU of Alaska have brought suit against the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles over DMV’s refusal to put the correct gender marker on a transgender woman’s driver’s license without proof of a surgical sex change. The brief in the case, K.L. v. State of Alaska, can be read at at the ACLU or ACLU of Alaska websites.
Here is the ACLU of Alaska’s press release:
DMV Refusal to Correct Transgender Driver’s Licenses Unconstitutional
ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Requirement that Transgender Persons Undergo Surgery for Proper Gender on License
ANCHORAGE, AK, July 18, 2011 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska filed a brief today seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their driver’s licenses without undergoing major surgery. The state’s surgery requirement places an undue burden on transgender individuals and presents a gross violation of an individual’s right to privacy.
“It is unfair and unnecessary to require that transgender people undergo prohibitively expensive and drastic surgery in order to have accurate identity documents,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. “No one should have to disclose sensitive personal information or be forced to make major medical decisions in order to get an accurate driver’s license.”
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of a transgender woman, K.L., whose United States passport and work documents all identify her as a female. After initially securing a change to the gender on her driver’s license, she was told that her new license would be revoked unless she submitted proof of having surgery. The American Psychiatric Association and medical experts agree that surgery is medically necessary for some with gender identity disorder (GID), but not for everyone. Treatment for GID is individualized, and some can be effectively treated without it, making it unnecessary for the state to confirm whether or not an individual has had surgery before correcting a license. Additionally, such surgery is extremely expensive and potentially dangerous. The State Department no longer requires transgender people to have surgery before it will correct the gender marker on passports and a growing number of states have stopped requiring surgery for changing the gender marker on a driver’s license.
“Having a driver’s license that doesn’t match my appearance and identity would place me at risk of discrimination and physical harm,” said K.L., who has lived as a woman for two years.
The state supreme court has found that the Alaska Constitution’s privacy clause protects individuals’ right to self-expression and to be free from the disclosure of sensitive personal information and government intrusions on their decisions about medical care.
“The surgery requirement not only violates Alaska’s laws, it demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about what it means to be transgender,” said John Knight, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “The state cannot deny transgender people an accurate driver’s license based on an arbitrary and unconstitutional policy that clashes with accepted medical standards.”
The brief can be found on the ACLU websites at www.aclu.org and www.akclu.org.
Attorneys include Knight of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project, Thomas Stenson of the ACLU of Alaska Foundation, and Stephanie Boehl of Perkins Coie.
