Sunday, 6 October 2013 – 5:19 PM
| Comments Off on A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013
Bent Alaska’s blog will continue in hiatus indefinitely; but the Bent Alaska Facebook Group on Facebook is thriving — join us! A long-overdue update from Bent Alaska’s editor.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 – 7:16 AM
| Comments Off on PrideFest 2010 theme and dates announced
Alaska’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities (and our fabulous straight allies) will demonstrate our PRIDE for 10 colorful days in June as we celebrate Anchorage PrideFest 2010. Our theme is 2010 A PRIDE ODYSSEY.
Anchorage PrideFest 2010 will take place June 18-27. During this ten-day period, various non-profit, social, and business organizations will host special events at venues around Anchorage. A highlight of PrideFest is always the Celebrating Diversity Parade which will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday June 26 through the heart of downtown Anchorage, where we hope to see a record crowd. After the Parade, please join us for the Festival on the Delaney Park Strip from noon until 6 p.m. The Festival will feature live entertainment, vendors, food, friends, a kiddie carnival, and fun, all under the glorious Anchorage summer sun.
To make this year’s PrideFest a success, we need the support of our entire community… sponsors, donors, parade entries, festival entertainers, vendors, groups who sponsor events, hundreds of volunteers… you name it, we need it. Thank you for making it great each year!!
If you are interested in helping in any way with this year’s PrideFest festivities, please join us at our next planning meeting. You don’t need any skills, just a passion for pride, willingness to work as a team and the expectation to have fun. We are aiming to have as many groups and regions as possible throughout Alaska represented in our planning.
The next meeting is Wednesday, February 24, at 6:30 pm at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage. If you are outside of Anchorage, we can arrange a speaker phone. For more info, send us an e-mail.
Award-winning and gay-friendly comedian Kathy Griffin is performing in Anchorage on Friday March 5 at the PAC.
In addition to stand-up comedy, Griffin played a lesbian activist on a recent episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and posed for the NoH8 photo project. She also escorted Levi Johnston to the Teen Choice Awards, and joked that they are engaged and she’s carrying his baby.
“Kathy invades Alaska for one night only in March. Make sure to get your tickets early for this rare stop. In addition, Kathy will be stopping at Borders (1100 East Dimond Boulevard, Anchorage) at noon sharp for a very special book signing. Please call in advance for any special instructions the store may have: 907-344-4099.”
“Multiple HBO and Bravo specials weren’t enough! Catch double Emmy award winning Kathy Griffin live in her true element. She has more stories, more dish, more of what she shouldn’t say but you know you want to hear. Chicago native Kathy Griffin is a multi-faceted performer with a rapid fire wit. Come with an open mind and laugh until you puke . . . Just a little.”
Griffin loves “her gays” and will definitely have gay and lesbian fans at the Anchorage show. She even looked for – and found – gay soldiers when entertaining troops in Afghanistan, in this video clip from her DVD Allegedly:
Her fourth stand-up comedy DVD She’ll Cut A Bitch was released in January. Learn more at Kathy Griffin’s home page.
Tickets are $65 for the main floor and $45 for the mezzanine and balcony, and are available through the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts event page for Kathy Griffin.
Amber lived in Alaska before going to work in Uganda. Last week she witnessed an anti-gay demonstration, and the experience triggered this response, forwarded by a reader:
————
I’ve got to put this down…
its 11:57 pm and i’m sweaty and tired. after emails and phone meetings and evening shopping at the market and necklace class and compound hunting and lots of other things, sleep should come easy. maybe it’s too much sweet tea or monitor glare.
today my progress was twice blocked by an anti-homosexual march. i was driving down main street and noticed some mzungus (white people) on motorbikes carrying pastel-colored signs and honking horns and yelling. i was intrigued until i read the signs. the crowd driving and marching down the street got thicker until the whole road was blocked. by that time i was trying to make a right-hand turn across that side of main street. (yes, we drive on the left here) and was trapped watching as hundreds walked and drove carrying signs of the most hateful nature. i eventually made my right turn and did my commercial business and there they were again, blocking my path for a second time. i don’t often feel rageful, but sometimes i think indignation is appropriate.
today i hated americans. i hate right-wing religious zealots who think its ok to promote the government-sanctioned killing of people they don’t like in places where government-sanctioned killing turns into genocide. i hate people who incite an underfed, undereducated population into taking to the streets when angry mobs kill people who happen to cross their paths. i hate all people who just watched the hatred go by. i hate that this is another reason not to live in this place and trust these people. i hate that colonialist westerners continue to come here and leave their oppressive, self-loathing fear of everything behind. i hate that this country will be seen as ignorant and intolerant and will be ignored by NGOs who say they are only here to help. i hate the sanctimonious bullshit that comes out of black and white mouths. i hate that people i love don’t want to come here to visit me because they will have to hide who they are.
later in the day, i realized there are more things i hate. i hate that women i know have to have more children than they know they can take care of. i hate that they have to choose between getting their teeth fixed and feeding their children. i hate that they don’t know that soda causes cavities and that they don’t know what cavities are. i hate that their clothes are ripped and falling apart and pregnant women wear shirts they can’t button because they don’t have any other clothes. i hate that they aren’t hateful and are able laugh and smile and have a good time while they are experiencing these things. i hate when i see this and i feel small and stupid. i hate that i whine about paper cuts and sweatyness to people who have teeth pulled with no anesthesia and have never experienced indoor plumbing. i hate that they show me that i have the choice to be hateful.
it’s 12:16 am. a new day. maybe today i won’t be hateful. maybe i’ll look at what i have and what i have done and feel satisfied that the equation balances. maybe i’ll go use my indoor plumbing and accept the truth that it just takes more everything to keep me alive and functioning and i’m lucky because i’ve never had to suffer. maybe i’ll go to sleep and feel better because
Friday, 19 February 2010 – 5:00 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 2/19/10
I’ve been on medical leave the last few weeks, but will return to regular posting when I’m able. Here are this week’s LGBT events from the statewide newsletter Alaska GLBT News.
Juneau
Pride Chorus “Eyes on Chicago” Concert 2/20, silent auction at 6:30, music at 7:30 p.m. at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.
Fairbanks
UAF Gay-Straight Alliance Meeting 4 p.m on 2/19 in the Alumni Lounge, and GSA Bowling in the Wood Center 3:30 p.m. on 2/20.
Jeff’s Jungle Party with DJ Nicole, for over 21 LGBT’s and allies 2/20, begins at 9 p.m. off Sheep Creek Road.
Wednesday Social at 9 p.m. Contact Joshua for the current 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.
Sunday, 14 February 2010 – 11:32 AM
| Comments Off on k.d.lang’s queer Alaskan Valentine
k.d. lang sings – and howls – the love song Barefoot from her movie Salmonberries, which takes place in Kotzebue, Alaska. Although the video does not show her feet, she is bare from the chest up. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Friday, 12 February 2010 – 4:50 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 2/12/10
Happy Valentine’s Day! This week’s LGBT events from the statewide newsletter Alaska GLBT News.
Juneau
SEAGLA Valentine’s Dance 2/14, 8 p.m. at the Silverbow, all ages, everyone welcome. $10 suggested donation.
Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.
Fairbanks
Wednesday Social at 9 p.m. Contact Joshua for the current 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
Hypnotic Journey: Jay Her’s Comedy Hypnosis Show 2/12, 7:30 p.m. Colleen Crinklaw opens with stand up comedy. UAA’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium. Tickets $20 at the door, cash only.
PrideProm 2010 planning meeting 2/13, 11:30 a.m. at the GLCCA.
“Sweetheart’s Dinner” 2/13, Cocktails at 6pm and Dinner at 7pm, at Mad Myrna’s. $20, annual fundraiser for ICOAA.
MCCA Retreat: “Newness” 2/13, 12-2 p.m. open to all.
Love Your Gay Neighbor Valentine’s Day Party 2/14, 3-4:30 p.m. At MCC Anchorage, after the 2 p.m. Sunday service.
New LGBT Book Lovers Club meets at the GLCCA 2/17, 6:15 p.m. showing the movie Jane Austin’s Book Club and choosing books to read and discuss.
Sarah Palin said that now is not the right time to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and criticized President Obama for mentioning it in his State of the Union address. She did not say when would be the right time for the repeal.
Palin appeared on Fox News Sunday and was asked, “Should the rule ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for the military be repealed?”
“I don’t think so right now,” she said. “I’m surprised that the president spent time on that in his State of the Union speech when he only spent about 9% of his time in the State of the Union on national security issues. And I say that because there are other things to be worried about right now with the military. I think that kind of on the back burner is sufficient for now. To put so much time, and effort, and politics into it? Unnecessary.”
Monday, 8 February 2010 – 1:50 PM
| Comments Off on Freedom to Marry Week 2010
The 13th annual Freedom to Marry Week begins today and marriage equality events are planned around the country. In Anchorage, marriage equality supporter and Seattle sex columnist Dan Savage returns for another entertaining and educational question and answer session on all things sexual for UAA’s Healthy Sexuality Week, and we have GLBT Valentine’s events in Anchorage and Juneau.
“Every year, right around President Lincoln’s birthday and Valentine’s Day, symbolizing equality and love, supporters of the freedom to marry take action and promote conversations about why marriage matters to American families, gay and non-gay alike,” said Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People’s Right to Marry. “This year, Freedom to Marry’s partner organizations across the country – from Rhode Island to Washington state – are organizing Freedom to Marry Week rallies, house parties, film screenings, and lobby days.”
Freedom to Marry Week is February 8-14, 2010. Learn how to talk about marriage equality, and read A Decade of Progress on LGBT Rights at Freedom to Marry Week 2010.
In this video, Dan Savage shows how the definition of marriage has already been changed by heterosexuals, and the absurdity of using children as the reason to deny same sex marriage:
Saturday, 30 January 2010 – 10:09 AM
| Comments Off on Singing Valentines and Pride Chorus Concert
Mark your calendars for the Juneau Pride Chorus “Eye on Chicago” Concert on February 20, and order your Singing Valentine today.
Singing Valentines all over the state
Make Valentine’s Day extra special with a Singing Valentine sung by members of the Juneau Pride Chorus!
Anyone can order a Valentine: an ensemble from the Chorus will sing by phone to a sweetheart, or in person if the loved one lives in Juneau. The cost is $10 on the phone or $35 in person (this includes one song, a rose, and a personalized card, $55 for two).
Orders must be made by February 11, and can be sung on the 12th or 14th of February. To order a Valentine, call 586-6984 and send a check made out to “PFLAG Juneau” to: Juneau Pride Chorus, PO Box 32245, Juneau, AK 99803.
“Eye on Chicago” Concert 2/20
Join the Juneau Pride Concert for “Eye on Chicago,” a Chicago-themed concert sponsored by PFLAG Juneau, on Saturday, February 20 in the Juneau Arts & Culture Center. The silent auction begins at 6:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
The concert is a fundraiser for the Chorus to participate in the Sister Singers Network Festival on July 4th weekend in Chicago.
Tickets are available at the door or from chorus members: $15 adults, $30 families, $12 students & seniors.
Denny’s received a pile of email about the local anti-trans incident reported by Anja on Tuesday, and leaders of the Anchorage LGBTA community are in contact with the manager/owner. Meanwhile, an anonymous hater left this comment on the Bent post:
you people need to face the facts, by people I mean gays, trans whatevers etc. You are not “normal” and though you are allowed to co-exist in our society it does not mean everyone has to accept your lifestyle. you all need to grow a thicker skin, remember the saying sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never harm me ? get off your politically correct high horse and shut up already
Note to Mayor Sullivan: Do you really think this hater will treat his neighbors, co-workers, clients, employees and renters fairly and equally – without discrimination – when he learns that they are gay or trans? FAIL
The very real consequences of DADT repeal; seeking survivor benefits for same-sex partner of Alaska shooting victim; waiting on SCOTUS decision about whether it will hear Prop 8 case; and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
In this month’s “Ask Lambda Legal” column, Lambda Legal answers a question about the federal government’s longstanding ban against donations of blood from men who have sex with men (MSM).
Alaska Pride Conference 2012 kicks off on October 5 with a First Friday showing at Tref.Punkt Studio of Love is Love, a photographic exhibit of LGBT couples from across the state.
United for marriage: Light the way to justice. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26–27, in two cases about freedom to marry. Please join us on Tuesday, March 26, at the federal courthouse in Anchorage (7th & C) in a circle united for equality.
Pariah, a critically acclaimed film about a 17-year-old African-American woman embracing her lesbian identity, will screen at UAA on Friday, November 2, and will be followed by a discussion on acceptance in honor of Mya Dale. The event is free and open to the public.
