Articles in Alaska communities
LGB and T Resources for Schools and Staff in Alaska
As reported last week, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District passed a motion to include “gender identity” as a protected group in all six non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies at their Feb 17 meeting.
“Quite a few people testified,” writes Tim Stallard. “Those testifying against the change … mainly expressed concerns about bathroom usage and why we need to define new groups for protection from discrimination.” He asks us to email the school board and thank them for their courageous vote.
Now that the policy is in place, Barbara McCarthy wants to encourage the school board to provide good resources and training for teachers, administrators and staff on gender identity. She asked Bent’s readers, “Do you know of a good teacher/administrator in-service training program on gender identity discrimination and harassment in the schools?” Do we have people in Alaska trained to facilitate these programs?
Since then, we’ve received great program ideas, and offers of help from Alaskans who are trained to lead workshops on LGBT issues in schools or are willing to share their personal experiences with gender identity:
- Fairbanks school counselors Jeff Walters and Lynn Harrison offered to plan the trainings. Jeff co-sponsors the Gay-Straight Alliance at West Valley High School.
- The founders of Transgendered Alaskans Social Group (TASG) offered to share their personal stories at the workshops.
- Laura in Anchorage found a good Transgender workshop posted online by the National Center for Transgender Equality.
- Sara Boesser in Juneau sent the link for the revised GLSEN Lunchbox, a training program for ending anti-LGBT bias in schools, created by the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
- Jackie Buckley participated in the GLSEN training several years ago in Anchorage and mentioned that the original program does not include the gender identity materials added to the revised version, but we can update our materials.
- Jackie works with Anchorage PFLAG to support parents and the Identity Advocacy Team, which speaks to local schools and organizations. She suggested PFLAG’s Safe Schools program as another good resource.
Jeff also attended the GLSEN training and used the materials for teacher inservices. He will pull together ideas from these suggestions, other established programs, and feedback from students to develop an inservice plan. “The students are interested in issues of gender identity,” he wrote “and have given us GREAT ideas and input from their perspective for other trainings in the past.”
This is what I’ve learned:
- We have access to good resources on LGB *and* T issues in schools.
- We have teachers and counselors who are trained to lead the programs.
- We have Alaskans who will share their personal stories of being LGB *and* T with students and staff.
- We have students, parents and staff who are interested in the issues.
- And we have a school board in Fairbanks that is willing to protect LGB *and* T students from discrimination and harassment.
It’s a good start. So when Anchorage, Juneau and other school districts in Alaska add “gender identity” to their policies, we will know who to contact.
Thanks to everyone who responded. That was – and continues to be – a great team effort.
Greetings from Pastor Norman Van Manen
Reverend Norman Van Manen was installed as Development Pastor of MCC Anchorage on Feb. 15 in the presence of over forty members of the LGBT-inclusive church. Van Manen visited in mid-December as a pastoral candidate and was appointed soon after, due to the positive response by church and community members.
Pastor Van Manen wrote a special greeting for readers of Bent Alaska and Alaska GLBT News:
“I am new to Alaska by only a few days. As I settle in and become acquainted with the GLBTQ community, I am looking forward to meeting you. I have already discovered that Alaska is not an easy place to find comfort in being the person you were born to be. It is my goal that all who worship at MCC Anchorage will find self esteem, love from others, and always feel loved by God. I am looking forward to working with you and listening to your stories.”
Reverend Van Manen brings 41 years of ministry experience to MCC Anchorage and to the community. Van Manen’s Pastoral Ponderings for this week are posted on the MCCA site:
“It is a revising and adjusting time for me. I still have to remind myself when I awaken in the morning that I am in Anchorage, Alaska. I was expecting to see water to the south and mountains to the north but instead the Cook Inlet is to the west (water) and the Mountains are to the east. What an awesome sight it was for me to see Mount McKinley from a high place for the first time a few days ago. It is 300 miles from here.“MCC Anchorage has a great spirit of embodiment and I am impressed with your warmth and kindness. Our worship is exciting and I am looking forward to the second message in a Sermon Series entitled The Week That Changed The World. This week’s message is entitled The Day of Authority.“This series of messages will take us up to and including Easter Sunday. On Thursday nights, we have a program that is called Step by Step. This is a Bible Study time with much discussion. We are looking at the foundation of our faith at the moment and you are all most welcome to attend. We have soup at 6:30 p.m. and begin Bible Study at 7 p.m. Please bring your Bible and a pen or pencil.“I am looking forward to meeting with the Board of Directors this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. for our first official meeting. There is much to talk about and much to plan. We have great and exciting days ahead. I have each of you in my prayers.”
The MCC Sunday service begins at 2 p.m. Photos of the Consecration and Laying of Hands ceremony at the installation of Rev. Van Manen are posted on the Metropolitan Community Church web site, which was recently up-graded by webmaster Matthew Moak.
Gay Alaskan Seeks Northern Community
Alaskans know about isolation. So do gays. LGBT Alaskans can easily find ourselves in a beautiful but remote place, cut off from the visible queer communities in the Lower 48.
Jerod Opsal is a gay man from Idaho, now living on an island in Southeast Alaska. He is an author, photographer and health care worker who writes The Northern Vox, a blog on liberal politics and human rights.
Last week, Jerod posted “A Gay Community in Alaska?”
After living in Southeast Alaska now for six months, it is time to weigh-in about living gay in Alaska.I definitely find myself still a little cautious about being “open” about my sexuality. It is interesting as I know everyone that lives on my little rock of 1400 people. They all know that I am Gay. I write a human rights political blog that is very searchable, I am the author of a book on religion and sexuality (coming out in July.) However, the snoozy silence in most of my professional conversations leaves me feeling quite isolated.Basically, Alaska is a place that anyone could move to, live out their life, and retire. This picture is actually quite comforting… IF you have a family or are already living with a long time companion. Palin rules Alaska with christian fundamentalist values and has not embraced diversity. The tone [is] grim, needless to say.My time here is short. I believe that if there was a measure of a gay community in Alaska, I could live out my life here. However, even Idaho, one of the most conservative states in the Union, has a thriving gay community that reminds you that “there are others.”
The post got a few comments from Fairbanks, Anchorage, and two women on Kodiak Island who saw his link on Bent’s Facebook page. Jerod is thrilled, but still hopes to meet LGBT people in Southeast Alaska.
Please go say “hello, we’re here, we’re queer, welcome to Alaska” to Jerod on The Northern Vox.
If you are GLBT from any part of Alaska and on Facebook, become a friend of Bent Alaska and post a message or personal link on the wall. Then reply to other messages and follow their links. I’ve met so many interesting LGBT people and allies from all over the state since creating Bent. The Facebook page is an easy way for you to meet each other, and for all of us to help isolated gay Alaskans feel the comfort of queer ‘family’ up here on the Last Frontier.
Pride Chorus concert and AWARE dinner
Join the Juneau Pride Chorus for their 2009 concert and dance on the theme of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Strength, February 28, 7:30 p.m. at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.
Songs include Alix Dobkin’s “If It Wasn’t for the Women,” “This One’s for the Girls,” “Hair,” “Respect,” Enya’s “Ebudae” and “Hattie and Mattie” from Holly Near. Plus, a delightful group of Pride Chorus members’ children will be singing “My Body’s Nobody’s Body But Mine.”
After the singing, there will be dancing to music performed by female musicians. Refreshments will be served during the intermission. Tickets are available from Chorus members or at the door – $15 for adults, $30 for a family, $12 for seniors and students. Everyone is welcome!
Last year’s Pride Chorus concert was the 10th anniversary show, on the theme Songs for the Soul. Chorus members Jill, Linda and Paula wrote about the concert.
The Juneau Pride Chorus will also be the opening act at the annual Women of Distinction Dinner sponsored by AWARE of Juneau, on March 7 at Centennial Hall. One of the Women of Distinction this year is Marsha Buck, member of the Pride Chorus, PFLAG Juneau and Alaskans Together for Equality.
“These women were chosen for their dedication and relentless service to peace, justice and the empowerment of women,” reads the Women of Distinction 2009 page. “Each honoree has enriched the lives of women and children and have made a legacy of compassion out of their own lives.”
The Pride Chorus songs will be followed by a catered dinner, silent auction and speeches by each of the women about what inspires them. Proceeds benefit AWARE’s domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention services.
Congratulations, Marsha!
This Week in LGBT Alaska 2/20/09
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings to discuss LBGT issues in the Valley. Mondays at 2 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin 2/21 & 2/22, 6 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum, with a discussion after the film on Saturday.
Transgendered Alaskans’ Social Group (TASG), meets Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
“Our Journey Through Faith” with Pastor Van Manen, Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. at MCC Anchorage. There is also a Sunday service at 2 p.m.
Gay AK News & Notes
Dan Savage was great – smart, witty, and totally gay – and the diverse crowd at the sold-out show laughed and learned, and clapped when he said, “gay marriage is coming.” How refreshing!
Brother Outsider, the movie about gay black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, is showing this weekend at the Anchorage Museum, sponsored by several local LGBTA groups and the Urban League, an African-American organization. A discussion will follow the film on Saturday night.
Pastor Van Manen wishes to thank the 40 individuals who attended his installation service last Sunday. He was deeply touched at the level of support and encouragement extended to him. Photos of the Consecration and Laying of Hands ceremony are posted on the new-and-improved MCC Anchorage web site. (Nice work, Matthew.)
Transgendered Alaskans Social Group (TASG) is a new group meeting at the GLCCA, Sundays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The group is open to MTF and FTM, TG/TS, and their partners, spouses and adult children. The intent of the group is to provide support and education through social networking, in a safe and comfortable environment. Their web site has a great name: TransAlaska Pipeline
VA Mental Health started a Transgender Support group, only for Veterans, on Thursdays at 4 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the VA Clinic on DeBarr Road in Anchorage. Check in at the reception desk.
Have you tied the knot? Identity wants to print your same-sex wedding picture in The NorthView, their quarterly bulletin. Please send pictures and a short commitment announcement to the NorthView editor.
The theme for the 2009 Women’s Summit in Juneau on March 18-20 is Health Care Access: Do Women in Alaska Have Choices? A work session with Senator Hollis French on Universal Health Care will include “comprehensive reproductive health care coverage for all women, gay or straight,” writes Geran Tarr of the Alliance for Reproductive Justice. “I think this includes the issue of domestic partner benefits too. It will be important for Senator French to hear from the group about the comprehensive needs of all women.” What other lesbian health care issues do you think are important?
Withrow Wins RAW Story Contest
The winners of the RAW Short Story Contest 2009 are (… drumroll … )
1st Place ($500, publication and an invite to read at Celebration) – Frayed Yellow Rope by Wendy Withrow
2nd Place ($300) – She Remembers on a Cold Summer Day by Brianna Dym
3rd Place (tie, $50 each) – Tomorrow by Alix Layton and Gestures by Marilyn Conner
Honorable Mentions –
The Crinoline Revolution or Searching for Regina’s Vagina by Terrilyn F. Watts
Moving Mountains by S.P. Horton
The Thing That Killed Her by Karis Koett
Pathways of Desire by Jean Anderson
Holding Pattern by EJ Essic
Thunderstorm by Annette Baker
Congratulations to everyone who submitted a story!
Celebration of Change, Radical Arts for Women’s annual performing arts event and fundraiser, is June 13, 2009 in the Wilda Marston Theater at Loussac Library in Anchorage. Visit RAW for more information and to get involved.
The Naked Ptarmigan, the queer Alaska journal that published several of last year’s contest stories, is now accepting email submissions year-round.
“Gender identity” added to Fairbanks school policies
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District passed a motion to include “gender identity” as a protected group in their non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies — the first school district in Alaska to do so.
Fairbanks NSB school board vs. PTA president on gender identity
In a first for Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is set to add gender identity to its non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies — over the objections of the PTA president of the school that asked for advice on the policy.
