Articles by E. Ross
E. Ross is the founder of Bent Alaska.
This Week in LGBT Alaska 4/30/10
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.
Fairbanks
ICOAA Pretty ‘n Pink 18+ Prom and show 4/30, doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. at Pioneer Park Civic Center, tickets $12 to benefit The Imperial Court.
Kentucky Derby Party and Alaskans Together Fundraiser 5/1, 12:30-3:30 p.m. at the Cafe Alex building, 310 1st Avenue. 21 and over only. Drinks, snacks, contests and prizes, and watching the horses race. $10-$25 suggested donation. RSVP.
Wednesday Social Group, contact Joshua for the location.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.
Anchorage
ACLU Open House 4/30, 5-7 p.m. at their new office, 1057 West Fireweed, Suite 207, near the corner of Spenard and Fireweed. Free & no RSVP needed.
Friday Night Diva Show 4/23, 9 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s.
Sunday Service at MCC Anchorage 5/2, 2 p.m.
LGBT Booklovers Club 5/3, 6:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
Registration Deadline 5/3 for the Identity team in the Graze to Raise downtown fundraiser. Register at the GLCCA.
Half Naked Pictionary 5/5, 9-11 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s, hosted by The Men’s Club on the first Wed. of the month.
Tell Young, Begich and Murkowski to vote YES on ENDA!
On Wednesday April 21, over 200 LGBT and allied organizations (including our own Alaskans Together for Equality) issued a one-line statement to members of the United States Congress:
Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act NOW.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA (H.R. 3017/S. 1584) is a federal bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal employment non-discrimination laws, making it illegal to treat employees unfairly based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
For the first time since 1994, when this legislation was initially introduced to Congress, federal lawmakers appear ready to pass the law, furthering LGBT equality by establishing workplace protections that hundreds before us have sought.
At this point, only 40% of the U.S. by population has clear laws in place that protect LGBT people from this type of discrimination. The 2009 Out & Equal Workplace Survey, released in October, shows that workplace discrimination persists, with 44 percent of respondents indicating they have faced discrimination on the job, and 18 percent indicating they experienced discrimination in the last 18 months.
The situation is even more dire for transgender people: the preliminary findings of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (a project of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality) found that 97 percent of respondents reported mistreatment or harassment, and 47 percent had lost their job, been denied a promotion, or were denied a job as a direct result of being transgender. Transgender people also reported twice the national rate of unemployment.
Right now, in most of the country (including Alaska), this happens without recourse. ENDA will change this, but it won’t happen without your help. A vote on ENDA could happen in the next two weeks. Will you take two minutes right now to call Don Young’s office and tell him that you support ENDA?
Call Rep. Young at 202-225-5765. Give your name and your city and then let him know:
“I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H. R. 3017/S. 1584), which will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. No one deserves to be fired from their job because of who they are. Please vote Yes for ENDA.”
If you get voicemail instead of a person, feel free to leave a message – the messages are listened to and count just as much as if you reach a staff member. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’ve called in the past, no problem … call again or write or schedule a visit.
Then hang up and call Senators Murkowski and Begich. Murkowski’s number is 202-224-6665; Begich’s is 202-224-3004. I promise you that based on the work I’ve done here in DC and the conversations I’ve had with all three of them that your calls are not a waste of time.
Interested in becoming more involved? Visit the ENDA NOW blog for more ways you can help.
Please pick up the phone and call right now, today – our representatives need to hear that Alaskans support equality.
–
Tonei Glavinic is an Alaskan queer activist attending American University in Washington, DC. Zie currently works as a Public Policy and Advocacy intern at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and was recently elected Executive Director of American University Queers and Allies. The opinions expressed here are hir own, and not meant to represent any organization with which zie is affiliated.
Don Young on DADT: Don’t trust the Generals
Asked whether he would support the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Young replied:Probably not. I think the system has worked. I think we have to recognize that. I am not at ease saying that this would be a plus for the armed services. And I think we ought to stop going to the heads of the so-called military, and the politicians and ask the troops and see how it comes out. That would tell you a lot more. We have a tendency to think that we know more than the common folk. And Obama and Nancy Pelosi is an exaple of that in the health bill.[Felling] So you think that the Secretary of Defense, and the Generals don’t have the best sense…I actually don’t think that they… They’re like the President. They don’t have any contact with their troops. The troops in the field, the guy that’s got mud on his boots, and pulling that M-16 trigger, he’s got armor on his chest at 110 degrees, you ought to ask him.
which included not only Marines, but members of the Army and the Air Force, both male and female service members explained their indifference to the issue: They’d already served with gays and lesbians, they accepted that some kind of change was imminent, and, they said, the nation was too engulfed in two wars for a prolonged debate about it.
- 73 percent of military personnel are comfortable with lesbians and gays (Zogby International, 2006).
- The younger generations, those who fight America’s 21st century wars, largely don’t care about whether someone is gay or not, and they do not link job performance with sexual orientation.
- One in four U.S. troops who served in Afghanistan or Iraq knows a member of their unit who is gay (Zogby, 2006).
In addition, the public overwhelmingly supports lifting the ban:
- Majorities of weekly churchgoers (60 percent), conservatives (58 percent), and Republicans (58 percent) now favor repeal (Gallup, 2009).
- Seventy-five percent of Americans support gays serving openly, up from 44 percent in 1993 (ABC News/Washington Post, 2008).
Representative Don Young: 202-225-5765
Dining and Singing to fight AIDS in Alaska (Thursday)
Gay and raised in Alaska? Bring it Home
“Last November, the city council of Salt Lake City passed an ordinance protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals from discrimination in the workplace and in housing. Other cities in Utah are currently working on getting similar ordinances passed, in hopes of supporting an eventual statewide ordinance that would protect all queer Utahns.Where is Anchorage’s anti-discrimination ordinance or protections from hate crimes? Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed it…Before I moved to Utah last August, I was nervous to be a gay in Mormon country. Luckily for me, I found myself in a strong Utah LGBT community shortly after my arrival. These Utahns have been an inspiration to me, and I hope that Alaskans rise to the challenge of Utah’s example. If Utah can do it, so can Alaska.And none of the changes that occurred in Utah on queer issues would exist if not for the activism that lives within Utah.Queers in Alaska should embrace their queerness. The queers in Alaska need to come out of their log cabins (the Republicans don’t like you anyway). They need to come out of the bars. They need to come out at work. They need to come out to their neighbors. The gays must go out and greet the moveable middle within their communities. Be creative in your activism. Do something, not nothing: Stage a kiss-in, create a spectacle, anything, just go all for it in your community.”
“I am proud to say that I am a born-and-raised Alaskan. I love my home state; it’s beautiful and gave me many opportunities. But Alaska needs to become a more inclusive state to all of its citizens. Utah got at least one thing right when Salt Lake City decided to protect its LGBT residents. Now it’s time for Alaska to meet the challenge.”
Annual spring and summer LGBT events in Anchorage
Memorial service for Dan Carter-Incontro at MCCA
Dan Carter-Incontro, long time Alaska GLBT activist and supporter of equal rights for all, died last Sunday at the age of 62. The funeral is on Saturday at 3:30 pm at the Nazarene Church in Lake City, Florida, and a local memorial service will be held on Sunday at MCC Anchorage.
Al Carter-Incontro, Dan’s husband, is planning a trip to Alaska in May, and a community Celebration of Life will be held during his visit.
Dan was a big supporter of the Anchorage Gay and Lesbian Community Center. If you wish to make a donation to the Center in memory of Dan, Identity will send an acknowledgement to Al and to Dan’s sister Sarah. If you would like to send flowers to the Florida funeral, call 386-755-0833 for a local florist.
The MCC Anchorage memorial is during the Sunday service on April 25 at 2 p.m.
It is not often in this life when you are blessed to have crossed paths with an individual such as Dan Carter-Incontro. Dan was a friend to many within the Church and our community.
Dan and Al Carter-Incontro were the second Alaskan couple to marry in British Columbia when it became legal there in 2003. They went to British Columbia just days after it became legal to get married there having spent more than 30 years as a couple.
Dan had many friends at Identity and almost all of its member organizations as well as the Municipality where he worked and retired from the People Mover department, the Alaska Democratic Party where he had the honor of serving as a National Delegate at least once, and of course his involvement with MCC Anchorage. His past involvement with MCC Anchorage ensured that the Life of the Church would continue serving the community of Anchorage.
Dan’s moving to Florida left a large hole in the community and now with his passing an even larger hole resides in our minds and hearts. It is, as some have said, the end of an era.
We will be celebrating the life of Dan Carter-Incontro this Sunday at 2:00pm. All from the community and the Church are welcome to attend.
This Week in LGBT Alaska 4/23/10
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.
Fairbanks
Green Tea Party and Dance at Jeff’s House 4/24, 9 p.m. A spring dance to raise funds for PFLAG Fairbanks. Open to all LGBT and allies 21 and older.
Dining Out For Life – Fairbanks 4/29, all day. Eat breakfast, lunch and/or dinner at participating restaurants in Fairbanks and raise funds for Interior AIDS Association.
Imperial Court’s Pretty ‘n Pink Prom drag show 4/30, doors at 7 p.m. show at 8 p.m. at Pioneer Park Civic Center, ages 18+.
Wednesday Social Group, contact Joshua for the location.
Kenai Peninsula
Celebration, an LGBT art show in Soldotna, through the end of April at Art Works gallery.
Mat-Su Valley
LuLu Small and the Small Band 4/24, 7 p.m. at Del Roi’s.
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.
Anchorage
Friday Night Diva Show 4/23, 9 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s.
Identity Friend-Raiser at the Kodiak 4/23, 4:30-7 p.m. Snacks, music and cash bar.
Remembering Dan Carter-Incontro 4/25, 2 p.m. Memorial service at MCC Anchorage.
Tansgender Support Group 4/25, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Social support group, 2nd and 4th Sundays at the GLCCA.
Fetish Ball raised money and questions
Fetish Ball was a wild success Saturday night, with impressive costumes, sexy games, a packed house, and about $8000 raised for the Four A’s food bank to provide meals for people with AIDS. It also attracted a negative comment on the blog and a snarky poetic response. Sarha, Ms. Alaska Leather, wrote,
Fetish Ball 2010 will go down in history as the biggest fetish fund raiser ever! Thank you to those that attended the planning meetings, participated in setup and tear down, ran game booths, walked the runway and worked so hard to make this happen.
Fetish Ball is an annual theme party hosted by the Anchorage fetish, leather and s/m community. It’s not a specifically gay event, and many heterosexual people attend. Ms. Alaska Leather, one of the event organizers, is married to a man. But gay people have always been involved, it’s a benefit for Four A’s held at Myrna’s, and the event and poster were listed with other GLBTA weekend events last Friday on the blog.
Soon after the post went live, an anonymous comment appeared:
Fetish Ball 2010??? with a medical theme??? And those in the LGBT community wonder why they aren’t openly accepted… lol!
During the ordinance hearings last summer, Bent gained several anonymous trolls. They are attracted like moths to certain topics, such as the UA policy change and transgender issues. Posts that describe discrimination against LGBT people will often get a comment saying that we deserve whatever bad treatment we get. Some of the comments are openly hateful, like this one, for example, and these below the post.
The Fetish Ball comment isn’t as hateful as those, but the string of false assumptions between gays and fetishes and the lack of acceptance or rights was more than I had time to deal with on the weekend. So I posted the comment on Bent’s Facebook wall under the Fetish Ball link and waited to see how the friends would respond.
The first person easily summed up the situation:
Everyone has fetishes. The LGBT community and allies are just more willing to embrace it instead of acting like hypocrites.
Well said. The next person responded with a poem! She’s a transwoman who attended the ordinance hearings and noticed that some of the haters have a trans fetish:
The fundies sneering at me in halls,
for going to the fetish balls,
Are the ones behind restroom doors,
who hit on me to drop my drawers.Only Baptists have asked me to,
do the things that Baptists rue,
to spread my legs for them to see,
When all I want to do is pee.Spitting on me when I pass,
Then stand behind to watch my ass,
Brimstone public testimony,
Then privately ask to see my pony.Sunday mornings go a-churching,
Friday nights ask me for birching,
For churchman insults heaped a-plenty,
Hun, you’re never going to get any.
She added, “I am not particularly appreciative of the behavior expressed towards me by certain orthodox individuals. Perhaps they believe that God doesn’t exist if no one is looking.”
SNAP! I’m glad I’m on her side.
Thanks to the FB friends for answering an ignorant blog comment with insight and creativity. And thanks to all for a great event that raised funds for a good cause.
Pride Prom rocks for Anchorage and Mat-Su students
“The bass vibrated the walls and strobe lights flashed on the dance floor. This was the scene that greeted LGBT youth and their allies on April 16th as they arrived at the Kincaid Chalet for Pride Prom 2010.The youth planned and set up the event with help from supportive adults and their effort paid off. The dance was a huge success and everyone had a great time dancing to popular music hits, many by request to the live DJ.The theme that was chosen was ‘gender bender’ and quite a few of the youth dressed up in clothes usually worn by the opposite gender. At one point in the night there was voting for a royal pride court based on how loud of a cheer the people nominated received. Two young men in drag were voted as the pride queens and they both received gift certificates.The dance went off as planned and many youth are already interested in helping out in planning next year’s prom.”
“So… Day of Silence.Per. 1: Mr. — took off points for me not speaking even though he didn’t even call on me. He gave Erica some BS about politics not belonging in the classroom. I should’ve ductaped my rainbow flag to my desk.Per. 2: No problems.Per. 3: Random guys asked me if I was a lesbian. Now that they know, hopefully they’ll stop hitting on me. They were really starting to get on my nerves.Per. 4: I had a whiteboard conversation with a friend about what happened in 1st period.Lunch: I sat next to my girlfriend and ate lunch quietly like I usually do. All of the DoS kids ate lunch in our adviser’s room.Per. 5: The sub caught me saying sorry and said that I should just give up and take off my DoS tee (which was over my other shirt). I flipped him off in french when he wasn’t looking. I ate a cutie pie (turnover) that my girlfriend gave me and then had a spaz attack because of all the sugar.Per. 6: No problems.Now, on to Pride Prom…My parents rented an impala and my mom put flowers in my hair and made a matching boutonniere for my girlfriend. I made french onion soup for dinner.Pride Prom itself was spectacular. There was a strobe light, glow sticks, black lights, balloons, free pictures, great music, and more rainbows than I thought existed. In the car ride home I fell asleep on my girlfriend’s shoulder. Bliss. Some moments I wish could last forever…”
