Articles in Anchorage
Four A’s Gifts For Change
Have you ever tried to figure out what to give that person in your life who already has everything? The Four A’s has launched a new program for donors called “Gifts For Change” that not only provides you with another option for special occasion gift giving, but also provides support to individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Alaska and prevention efforts across the state.
Gifts For Change can be made in recognition of birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, weddings, thank you gifts or any other occasion you celebrate.
Here’s how it works. Fill out the Gifts For Change form, specifying the gift recipient’s contact information (recipients will not be added to any Four A’s mailing lists), gift occasion and the amount you’d like to donate. Four A’s will send the recipient a card recognizing the occasion and your name (gift amounts will only be reported to the gift recipient if you chose).
Send the completed form to Four A’s, ATTN: Chrissy Bell,1057 W. Fireweed, Suite 102, Anchorage, AK 99503.
RAW 2009 Short Story Contest
UPDATE: Wendy Withrow won 1st place for “Frayed Yellow Rope.” The list of winners and honorable mentions is posted at RAW. Thanks to all who entered the 2009 contest. The 2010 contest will be announced in the fall.
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Radical Arts for Women (RAW) is giving away the most money yet for its 3rd annual short story contest, open to all women living in Alaska.
The fiction pieces must be between 250 and 5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. The deadline is Jan. 15, 2009.
The grand prize is $500, publication and an opportunity to read the story at Celebration. The second place winner will receive $300 and the third place wins $100. There is no entry fee.
In addition to the annual story contest, RAW produces Celebration of Change and awards grants to Alaskan women in the arts.
Last year’s winning story was Annette Baker’s “A Place with Water“
Complete guidelines:
- Each entry must contain a cover sheet with author’s name, address, phone number and email and with the story’s title and word count.
- The short story must be between 250 and 5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. Stories should be on 8.5-by-11 paper, double spaced, 1-inch margins, no less than size 10 font. Do not put author’s name on the story. The fiction and lesbian stipulations may be interpreted by the author, but we are not seeking poetry or non-fiction. Erotica is acceptable. Electronic submissions are not accepted. Unpublished submissions only.
- Feel free to use a pseudonym, but let us know your real name in case you win a prize.
- Author must be a woman living in Alaska as of January 2009.
- Jan. 15 is the postmark deadline for entries.
- There is no entry fee.
- Winner receives $500 and the invitation to read her work at RAW’s annual performing arts production Celebration of Change in the spring of 2009 in Anchorage. The winning short story will be published on RAW and in the Alaska LGBT literary journal Naked Ptarmigan.
- Honorable mentions will be given at the judges’ discretion.
- Winners will be announced Feb. 15. For a complete list of winners, include an SASE with entry.
- Mail entries by Jan. 15 to Radical Arts for Women Short Story Contest, PO Box 244436, Anchorage AK 99524-4436.
Also, the Naked Ptarmigan is accepting submissions: PO Box 244076, Anchorage AK 99524. Several of last year’s stories were published in the journal.
Support Identity with Work Place Giving
Identity, Inc. is now approved as a Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity. If you are a federal employee, you can choose Identity as the non-profit to benefit from a donation withheld from your pay check. Supporters can also donate to Identity from your PFD checks if you apply online for the 2009 PFD.
Here are four easy ways you can support Identity, Inc, sponsors of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage, the Pride Conference and PrideFest:
1. UNITED WAY – WORK PLACE GIVING: In Health & Human Services, write in “Identity, Inc.”
2. ALASKA COMMUNITY SHARE – WORK PLACE GIVING: Simply select Identity, Inc.
3. COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN – WORK PLACE GIVING: Federal Workers select Identity Inc.
4. ALASKA PERMANENT FUND: Identity, Inc. is an approved charity for selection when you apply on line for 2009.
If you indicate that your name may be disclosed to us, you will receive a thank you letter when your contributions are received at Identity, Inc.
This Week in GLBT Alaska – 10/17/08
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news briefs and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
October is GLBT History Month – See a different LGBT leader each day!
EVENTS
Fairbanks
Friends Steve & Carol are both turning 50! Birthday Party 10/18, 8 p.m. at Jeff’s house.
Casting call for Drag Through The Ages, a benefit show for Interior AIDS Association (IAA), 10/18, 4 p.m. at Dance Theater Fairbanks. First rehearsal is Sunday evening.
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays, 10/17, 6-8 p.m., 21 and over.
Anchorage
HIV Rapid Testing by Four A’s at the Hispanic Community Center 10/17, 4-6 p.m. for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.
MCC Sunday Worship service with speaker Sara Gavit 10/19, 2 p.m.
ICOAA Chili Cook*Off 10/19, 4-7 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s. Prizes! $3.00 at the door includes chilli & cornbread.
ICOAA Annual Meeting 10/20, 6:30 p.m. in Mad Myrna’s showroom.
Hump Day Happy Hour 10/22, 5-7 p.m. with The Last Frontier Men’s Club at The Raven Bar.
Growing Up Gay in Alaska
Discrimination against LGBT Alaskans, growing up gay in Alaska, and The Family are the topics of a front page story in The Northern Light, the newspaper of the University of Alaska, Anchorage.
The first part of the article covers the ACLU of Alaska’s preliminary report on LGBT discrimination, and the second part covers The Family, especially members who grew up in rural Alaska. The article also tells students about Identity, Inc. and the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in downtown Anchorage.
This part about The Family compares the experiences of gay teens in Anchorage with those who grew up gay in rural Alaska:
Vicki Mason, current president of The Family, an unofficial UAA club, said that while discrimination is not a huge problem in Anchorage, the group has had to deal with people ripping down posters and signs that advertise the group’s presence.The Family has had a presence on campus for years. Its goal is to act as a family for straight and LGBT students who may have nowhere else to turn.Many members of The Family spoke about outreach they had growing up. Many who lived in Anchorage were part of their high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. Others, especially those who had grown up on the Kenai Peninsula, had absolutely nothing.One student, who grew up in Soldotna, grew up dealing with harassment, fear and name-calling. Several students who attended Homer High School said that one student had been beat up for being gay; the assailants only received a three-day suspension as punishment.Another member of The Family who grew up in the lower Kuskokwim River Area, said that in most villages there was a general feeling of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
An Anchor in Alaska: Being an Ally
When I first became active in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, I went to great lengths to discreetly indicate my sexual orientation to those I worked with. I didn’t join the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) during my first year in my 7-12 high school because I feared others would think I was gay. Four years later, I look back at my flawed seventh-grade reasoning and realize my work will someday create a world where such a thought would never have occurred to me—a world that sees people for who they are, not who they love.
I am fortunate to live in a community where LGBT people are commonly accepted. My experience in Anchorage, Alaska is not a place where funerals are protested or marchers are harassed during Pride Parades. Instead, it is a place where the Gay and Lesbian Community Center is open daily thanks to donors and volunteers. I attend a school where the GSA meets sporadically—not because the students don’t care, but because there is no blatant anti-LGBT harassment. While a younger student will occasionally use “that’s so gay” in a negative manner, I have never heard of someone being verbally or physically harassed for any reason, including sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s certainly not perfect, but I realize that being an ally is much easier for me than it is for others.
Still, like other allied students, I have had some difficult experiences. I have had “faggot” yelled at me from the open window of a passing school bus. Friends become exasperated with me for being offended at the saying “that’s so gay.” Other GSA members have asked, “How can you be so active with the GSA and still be straight?” But I know that these few things pale in comparison to the harassment and prejudice some of my friends face in their schools and communities.
Anti-LGBT harassment hurts everyone, not just the offender and the harassed. Environments of teasing, bullying, and harassment discourage learning and cause LGBT students and allies to feel alienated in places where they should be safe. Allowing it to continue fosters hate and intolerance, and has severe effects on those it is directed to and any witnesses as well. It also discourages students from attending class and participating.
I know that even as an ally, every time I hear hurtful and harassing words I feel as if I have been personally attacked. I feel hurt for my LGBT friends and angry that the offender would do/say something like that. If it’s on TV or in a non-personal setting, I feel angry that the broadcaster would allow such things, and that whoever watching (because it isn’t me) will watch that. In certain situations, even I sometimes feel helpless to stop it. It often ruins my day.
At times, it can seem like an exercise in futility. Some days it seems as if I am the only straight male who fights for the rights LGBT people. But every time I meet a member of the LGBT community, I am reminded of why I am an ally—because nobody deserves to be oppressed. Anti-LGBT harassment in any environment creates an unsafe place for a person to live, work or learn. Until all schools are safe spaces for all students, regardless of identity, I will remain an ally to my friends and all other members of the LGBT community.
Tony Glavinic
Regional Student Organizer
2006-2007 National Student Leadership Team
Regional Student Organizer
2006-2007 National Student Leadership Team
Do you have an ally story? Send a message to GLSEN’s Student Organizing Department at info@dayofsilence.org.
National Coming Out Day: October 11, 2008
Every Oct. 11, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and allies celebrate National Coming Out Day. We hold workshops, speak-outs, rallies and other kinds of events all aimed at showing the public that GLBT people are everywhere.
Come Out to Family, Friends and Co-Workers
Make a commitment to be honest about your sexual orientation or gender identity to those who know you. Polls continue to show that people who know someone gay are more likely to support full equality.
Come Out to Your Elected Officials and Local Newspapers
Write letters to your members of Congress, governor, state and city representatives, and to your local newspapers in support of GLBT-friendly legislation.
Attend the Pride Conference in Anchorage
Identity, Inc. is sponsoring the 14th annual Alaska Pride Conference on Saturday, October 11, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. People of all ages, cultures, sexualities and professions attend the conference each year to strengthen ties with one another and build community.
Why October 11?
On Oct. 11, 1987, 500,000 people attended the March on Washington for Lesbian & Gay Rights. This was the second such demonstration in DC, and the first display of the NAMES Project Quilt, remembering those who died from AIDS. Four months after the march, more than 100 LGBT activists from around the nation met near Washington, D.C. Recognizing that the GLBT community often reacted defensively to anti-gay actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out, to be held on the anniversary of the second march on Washington.
This Week in GLBT Alaska – 10/10/08
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news briefs and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN.
October is GLBT History Month, October 11 is National Coming Out Day, and October 13-17 is GLSEN’s 4th annual Ally Week!
Fairbanks
LGBT & Allies at UAF, 10/14, 7:30 p.m.
Anchorage
Out is In – Alaska Pride Conference 2008, 10/11, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. UAA University Center Mall.
Mad Myrna’s 10th Anniversary Disco Party, 10/11, 6-8 p.m.
Body and Soul: Breast Cancer Awareness Performance Poetry, 10/11, 7 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s.
Join PFLAG Anchorage for the film “It’s Still Elementary” 10/16, 7 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
Craft and Chat, Thursdays 7-9 p.m. at the GLCCA.
Out is In – Alaska Pride Conference 2008
Identity, Inc. is sponsoring the 14th annual Alaska Pride Conference at the UAA University Center Mall (36th Ave. and Old Seward Hwy) on Saturday, October 11, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
People of all ages, cultures, sexualities and professions attend the conference each year to strengthen ties with one another and build community.
Alaska Pride Conference 2008 offers the following workshops:
- Welcome by Dr. Fran Ulmer, Chancellor, UAA
- High School GSA Discussion Group
- Sexy 60’s – A Preview of Coming Attractions!
- GLBTQ Youth Suicide: The Facts
- Safe Spaces for Transgenders: Roundtable Discussion
- Identifying & Coping with the Impact of Religion on Gay Youth
- OOP, I Forgot to Have Children
- Hypnosis: Fun, Facts, Fiction and Practice
- Film – But Words Do Hurt: Stories of GLBT Youth
- Lunch with Performance artist Krista Bell
- Knowledge = Power = Equality: Promoting Your Rights at School
- Early Detection = Best Prevention – Breast & Cervical Cancer Awareness
- Polyamory – Love Without Possessiveness
- Transgender Myths and Truths
- Keynote – GLBTQ Youth Suicide: Increasing Support, Decreasing Risk
Registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and admission to all workshops. Pre-registration: $20 adult/$10 student (download a registration form.) Register at the door: $25 adult/ $15 student.
Hosted by The Family, University of Alaska Anchorage
This Week in GLBT Alaska – 10/3/08
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news briefs and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN.
Juneau
Jump the Broom: in Solidarity and Celebration of Love and Marriage 10/5, 3:30-7:30 p.m. Juneau Arts & Cultural Center. All proceeds go to Equality for All.
Fairbanks
Harvest Ball 10/3, door at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. $15 at the Pioneer Park Civic Center. ICOAA
Disco/Funk Party with DJ Double D 10/4, 9 p.m.-? 21 and over. Jeff’s house.
Anchorage
Ever Ready in Eagle River 10/3, 7:30 – 11:30 p.m.
Salon DaVinci’s Four A’s Fundraiser 10/4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
End of Summer Weenie Roast with The Last Frontier Men’s Club 10/4, 7 p.m.
The Voices of Mad Myrna’s, a Night of “Live” Karaoke 10/4, 9 p.m.
Bible Study at MCC, starting this Sunday 10/5, 1:15-1:45 p.m.
Hump Day Happy Hour with TLFMC 10/8, 5-7 p.m.
