Articles by E. Ross
E. Ross is the founder of Bent Alaska.
PrideFest Grand Marshals Say Gay Son is a Blessing, Unity is Essential
From Anchorage PrideFest:
The Anchorage PrideFest 2008 steering committee selected Jane and Norm Schlittler as Grand Marshals for this year’s Celebrating Diversity Parade.
Jane and Norm have been involved with the Anchorage GLBTA community since 1995, when they joined Anchorage PFLAG. They have been PFLAG board members since 1997.
“Having a gay son has been a huge blessing in so many ways,” Jane explains. “We’ve enjoyed being PFLAG parents, promoting the PFLAG message at every opportunity.”
If you’ve heard Jane speak at public events, you may have heard her say that sometimes parents go ‘in the closet’ when their gay kids come out. “It seems silly now, but that’s the typical reaction of parents,” she explains. Organizations like PFLAG are a critical resource to parents adjusting to the knowledge that a son or daughter or family member is gay.
While Jane is the determined PFLAG mom you’re likely to see speaking to groups around Anchorage, Norm is busy helping make Anchorage PrideFest happen each year. He is the quiet force behind the plethora of permits we must secure from the Municipality before the Parade and Festival on the Park Strip can take place. So this year the PrideFest committee asked Norm to step away from his desk and step into the Grand Marshal carriage with Jane, so we can honor his dedication to PrideFest.
As this year’s Grand Marshals and long-time members of the Anchorage GLBTA community, Jane and Norm encourage all groups, organizations and individuals to pull together and work toward our mutual goals for this community.
“We make frequent trips to San Francisco to visit our two daughters and grandchildren,” said Jane. “Each time we’re encouraged by the amazing progress we see there. If Alaska is ever to move out of the ‘dark ages’ of civil rights, a strong, unified community of GLBT and straight allies is absolutely essential. Together, we must inform the general public about these issues and increase voter participation.”
The Anchorage GLBTA community is united in our love and appreciation of these two dedicated PFLAG parents, and we welcome them as Anchorage PrideFest 2008 Parade Grand Marshals!
Know Your Status: Four A’s Extends Hours for National HIV Testing Week
National HIV Testing Week
June 23-28, 2008
Mission Possible: Know Your Status
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get tested to KNOW YOUR STATUS. Even though it is 100% preventable, 30-40 Alaskans are diagnosed with HIV each year. One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from HIV is to KNOW YOUR STATUS and get tested.
Extended HIV Testing Hours at Four A’s
June 23-26, 2008
9 a.m. -7 p.m.
1057 W. Fireweed, Suite 102
Free HIV Testing at PrideFest
Saturday, June 28, 2008
1-5 p.m.
9th and L Street Clinic (Across from the Parkstrip)
All tests will be performed with the OraQuick Rapid Test which produces results in 20 minutes. For more information on National HIV Testing Week, contact Alex Barros, Director of Prevention: abarros@alaskanaids.org
Extended hours are also available for free HIV testing at various locations in Juneau, June 24-28. Contact Lee Wagner, Southeast Outreach Specialist.
UAF Guest Speaker on Masculinity Says All Men Harmed by Homophobia
by E. Ross
What does it mean to be a man?
Dr. Michael Kimmel, sociologist, author and lecturer, will bring that question and his thoughts on masculinity to Fairbanks as part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Summer Session program.
Kimmel is a speaker for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), a network that focuses on three different aspects of feminist work for men. One is the anti-violence movement, offering public education about violence against women, and interacting with men convicted of violent crimes against women. Another promotes fatherhood issues and education.
The third topic is particularly important in terms of the social pressures men face: Homophobia.
“One of the things that hold men back from living this emotionally rewarding and impacting life available to them is homophobia. The fear of being marked as gay or connected to homosexuality is one of the most constraining elements in men’s lives,” Kimmel said.
He gave an example, asking how many seats two men would use if they went together to the movies. The answer: usually three or four. If two female friends go to the movies together, they use only two seats, unafraid to sit next to each other.
“That is what homophobia does. It distorts life,” he said.
During his discussion of masculinity in Fairbanks, Kimmel will focus mostly on relationships between men and women. He will encourage his audience to think about the costs of maintaining certain beliefs about masculinity “that we’ve been brought up with” — that it is not acceptable for a man to show emotion, that men should be domineering, that men and women are not equal — and the benefits of restructuring those beliefs.
“You can live a happier, more robust life by not fighting women’s equality but embracing it,” he said.
“Mars and Venus or Planet Earth: Men and Women in a New Millennium,” will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday June 24 at the Davis Concert Hall. The event is free to the public.
Five Days and Nights of GLBTQ Movies at Out North
PrideFest Film Festival at Out North
June 24-28 at 5 pm, 7 pm & 9 pm
(except 6/24: 7 pm & 9 pm only)
$6.50 online, $7 at the door.
Out North celebrates PrideFest with a week of GLBTQ features, documentaries, shorts and animations, sponsored in part by 4A’s.
The festival kicks off Tuesday night with the feature “Eleven Minutes,” a documentary about Jay McCarroll, winner of the first season of Project Runway. Wednesday’s features are “Out Late,” about people coming out later in life, and “Ask Not,” about the military ban on gay soldiers.
Three features screen on Thursday. “Be Like Others” shows the difficulty of gay life in Iran. “Eternal Summer” follows the romantic life of a young man in China. In “Whirlwind,” a sexy man upsets the relationships of a group of friends in NYC.
Friday is teenage girl night with “Sonja” (photo) a coming out feature from Germany, and “Same Sex Parents,” a French drama about a girl with gay parents.
Saturday’s feature is “Before I Forget” and is sponsored in part by 4 A’s. This witty French movie shows what happens to an aging gay gigolo after his sugar daddy dies.
The festival also includes five programs of short films.
See the complete list of films, descriptions and showtimes at www.outnorth.org.
Gay Surfing Romance With Family Values Screens at Bear Tooth
At the Bear Tooth
June 23 at 5:30 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.
Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws, and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe. When Gabe’s older brother Shaun returns home, he is drawn to Zach’s selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family.
Winner of numerous awards including Best Feature, Best Actor, and Best New Director in over 10 Film Festivals.
“Beautiful and emotionally gripping.” – SFGate.com
SHELTER screens twice Monday night as a Bear Tooth exclusive premiere in partnership with Anchorage PrideFest. Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use. $3.
Mapplethorpe Movie at the Museum
Black, White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethorpe
Anchorage Museum, Movies for Your Mind
June 21 & 22 at 6 p.m.
Sam Wagstaff pulled Robert Mapplethorpe from a Queens suburb and handed him a camera. Mapplethorpe pulled Wagstaff from a stuffy, upper-class existence and brought him to the heights of passion.
Yale-educated and born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Sam Wagstaff’s transformation from innovative museum curator to Robert Mapplethorpe’s lover/patron is portrayed in this engrossing documentary. The NYC art world was abuzz with a new spirit during the heady years of the ’70s and ’80s. Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was at the center of that world, with images that provoked reactions from awe to anger.
Documentary. Not rated but contains some sexually explicit images. Anchorage Museum: Movies for Your Mind. Tickets $4 for members, $6 general admission & $5 for seniors. Movie site: http://www.blackwhitegray.com/
First Gay Couple Married in San Luis Obispo Met in Alaska
David and Gerald met on a blind date in Alaska a dozen years ago, and it was love at first sight.
On Tuesday, June 17, they went to the San Luis Obispo County Government Center, along California’s scenic Central Coast, and got a marriage license. They were married outside the building, and held hands so tightly that their knuckles were white.
David Robinson and Gerald Lindemulder were the first gay couple legally married in San Luis Obispo County. The men spoke their vows, and the two dozen witnesses cheered. Some blew bubbles. Then they ate cake.
SLO County issued a total of 31 certificates to same-sex couples on Tuesday, according to the county clerk-recorder.
A version of this story was in yesterday’s New Times SLO.
Pride Foundation Raffle Includes Alaska’s GLBT Not-For-Profits
Raffle With a Twist!
What’s the Twist? If you win, we’ll make a donation to your favorite not-for-profit organization! Why? Because when you care about our community organizations we all win!
Pride Foundation is the Northwest’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community foundation, awarding grants and scholarships in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Click the link below to enter and tell us your favorite not-for-profit organization. If your name is drawn on September 27, 2008, we will make a $2,500 donation in your name to the organization you’ve entered. We will also give $1,000 to the most named organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. That’s it! No entry fee or donation necessary. One entry per email address please.
Enter the Raffle With A Twist
Gay and Lesbian Couples Say "I DO" in California
Del Martin, left, places a ring on her partner Phyllis Lyon, right, during their wedding ceremony officiated by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, center, at City Hall in San Francisco, Monday, June 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, Pool)
On Monday, California became the second state in the U.S. to grant full marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples. After waiting for more than half a century for legal recognition of their relationship, lesbian community leaders Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon became one of the first same-sex couples in California to legally marry.
County clerk offices opened their doors Tuesday morning to hundreds of gay and lesbian couples with appointments to exchange vows on the first full day that same-sex marriages are legal throughout California.
