Sunday, 10 January 2010 – 8:12 PM
| Comments Off on Anchorage paper hosts legacy book for Mary Daly, Boston lesbian author
Mary Daly, radical lesbian feminist author of Gyn/Ecology and Beyond God the Father, passed away on Jan. 3, and the Anchorage Daily News opened a legacy book for the Boston professor who didn’t live in Alaska and probably never visited.
The ADN reprinted her obituary from the Associated Press, and the guest book currently has 105 entries, mostly from New England. Only 2 entries are from Alaska, although a few entries do not give locations.
Daly was a major voice in the women’s movement and a central figure in eco-feminism. Several of her books are among the classics of women’s studies courses. Her first book, The Church and the Second Sex published in 1968, argued that the Church systematically oppressed women for centuries. In later years, she considered herself “post-Christian.”
“Ever since childhood, I have been honing my skills for living the life of a Radical Feminist Pirate and cultivating the Courage to Sin,” she wrote in the opening of “Sin Big,” a 1996 autobiographical article for the New Yorker magazine. “The word ‘sin’ is derived from the Indo-European root ‘es-,’ meaning ‘to be.’ When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a woman trapped in patriarchy, which is the religion of the entire planet, ‘to be’ in the fullest sense is ‘to sin.’ ”
Daly made headlines when she retired from Boston College (a Jesuit university where she taught for 30 years) rather than admit men to some of her advanced women’s studies classes, saying that the presence of men made the women less likely to speak. She did let men enroll in her introductory feminism courses and tutored them in the advanced subjects. Her anti-trans opinions were as controversial in the LGBT community as her anti-patriarchy stance was at Boston College.
Sunday, 10 January 2010 – 2:35 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Roundup 1/10/10
This week’s LGBT news roundup from Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
California, Time, January 5, 2009
2) Houston mayor calls swearing-in a gay milestone
Houston, Associated Press, January 4, 2010
3) “Cut Homophobia” film campaign
Jerusalem, Israel, Jerusalem Post, December 13, 2009
4) Portuguese govt aims to permit gay marriage
Lisbon, Portugal, Associated Press, December 17, 2009
5) Poll: Americans Split on Same-Sex Marriage
United States, Angus Reid Global Monitor, December 18, 2009
6) Hill Republicans join fight against D.C. gay marriage
Washington D.C., Washington Post, January 7, 2010
7) Mary Daly, a Leader in Feminist Theology, Dies at 81
Gardner, Mass., New York Times, January 6, 2010
8) Task Force: Federal jobs Web site change to include gender identity is step in right direction
Washington, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, January 06, 2010
9) RI lawmakers back funeral rights for gays
Providence, Rhode Island, 365Gay.com, January 6, 2009
10) Opponents hope to challenge N. H.’s gay marriage law
Concord, N.H., New Haven Register, January 5, 2010
11) New Jersey Senate Defeats Gay Marriage Bill
Trenton, N.J., New York Times, January 7, 2010
12) Corvino: Fighting gay dehumanization
365Gay.com, January 8, 2009
13) Lesbian Utah legislator carrying baby for gay couple
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Tribune, January 8, 2010
14) High-stakes gay marriage trial to begin in Calif.
San Francisco, 365Gay.com, January 8, 2010
Sunday, 10 January 2010 – 6:53 AM
| Comments Off on Two Great LGBT Scholarships
Alaska’s LGBT students have two more scholarship opportunities to help with the high costs of continuing their education: the Pride Foundation assists queer and ally students in the Northwest attending a wide variety of programs. The Point Foundation is a national LGBT fund for university students. Both applications are completed online, and the deadlines are approaching.
Pride education scholarships: deadline 1/31
Each year,
Pride Foundation provides educational scholarships to current and future lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-ally leaders and role models from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Pride Foundation offers 50 different scholarship funds, with only one application to complete. Scholarships cover accredited post-secondary school, including community colleges, 4-year public or private colleges and universities, trade or vocational training, creative studies programs, certificate programs, medical or law schools, or other accredited degree programs. The application is completed online and the deadline is January 31, 2010.
Point university scholarships: deadline 2/12
Point scholarships are provided to LGBT students to help them meet the costs of higher education at an accredited four-year university. In addition to financial support, students gain a network of fellow students and leaders to assist them in their career path.
Point Foundation: The National LGBT Scholarship Fund provides financial support, mentoring, leadership training and hope to meritorious students who are marginalized due to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The deadline for online applications is February 12, 2010.
Nicole Blizzard of Anchorage passed away on Dec. 30, and a memorial service is being held tonight, Thursday Jan. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in Providence Hospital’s West Auditorium. Blizzard was an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Providence.
The queer community is planning a second memorial later this month at Mad Myrna’s. Blizzard asked for a party instead of a funeral, so her friends are throwing a Birthday Party Celebration of Nicole’s Life at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday Jan. 31, which would have been her 52nd birthday.
In December, she was dealing with health problems and developed complications. Her close friends were with her when she passed away. They will spread her ashes in Cook Inlet this spring, as she requested.
Blizzard founded The Naked Ptarmigan, an LGBT literary journal for Alaska. She was a former editor of The NorthView, a former board member of Identity, and a co-host of RAW’s Celebration of Change.
She loved music, photography and writing, wrote online book and music reviews, and contributed to the web site TechnoDyke. A new book of her writings, Love and Other Mishaps: An Accidental Anthology, was published in early December, and autographed copies are available in the Local Interest section of Border’s Bookstore in Anchorage.
RAW is considering a last issue of The Naked Ptarmigan in honor of Nicole, and may set up a scholarship named for her. Details will be announced on March 27 at Celebration of Change.
Condolences to her friends and family. She was well-known and will be missed.
Sunday, 3 January 2010 – 1:18 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Roundup 1/3/10
You get a double-dose of Sara’s News this week, because her post didn’t come through last week. Sara’s roundups are very popular and I don’t want you to miss these great articles, so I’m posting this tonight and back-dating it to the correct day. The articles are still accurate and the links are still good. (Update for #12: The N.J. senate voted down same sex marriage and LGBT groups are taking them to court. Update for #13: Dozens of N.H. couples have gotten married since the law took effect on Jan 1. And #11: you already know my response to Levi’s interview.) Thanks for your patience. – eross
————-
This week’s LGBT news roundup from
Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Malawi, Africa, BBC News, December 29, 2009
Minneapolis, USA Today, December 28, 2009
Buenos Aires, Argentina, New York Post, December 29, 2009
Vancouver, B.C., New York Times, November 13, 2009
Houston, New York Times, December 27, 2009
New Jersey, Forward, December 23, 2009
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Tribune, November 30, 2009
Beirut, Huffington Post, December 23, 2009
Huffington Post, December 31, 2009
Wasilla, Alaska, Huffington Post, December 7, 2009
Haddonfield, N.J., Ashbury Park Press, December 30, 2009
New Hampshire, Boston Globe, December 31, 2009
Washington, Washington Post, December 31, 2009
China, Advocate, December 30, 2009
Salina Journal, December 21, 2009
Washington, Advocate, January 01, 2010
Huffington Post, December 30, 2009
Saturday, 2 January 2010 – 3:14 PM
| Comments Off on Church Life Brunch, AKA QrSA, and Pick.Click.Give. with the PFD
Gay AK – notes from LGBT Alaska
Youth Initiative launched
Identity Inc. officially launched their new Youth Initiative Program, AKA QrSA. The program is designed to create a safe place for LGBTQ teenagers and their allies to hang out. The first Holiday Hang-out was at the
Center on Dec. 19. The youth are enthusiastic about the program, creating a Facebook page and planning events for the future. A special thank you to the volunteer staff and friends of the GLCCA, and the members of St. John’s United Methodist Church who provided gifts.
Church Life AK’s first Christmas Day Brunch
Over 15 people attended Church Life Alaska’s first annual Christmas Day Brunch. “Thanks to Identity for letting us use the GLCCA, and thanks to Steve and Edie who donated finances to make the event a success,” writes Rev. Johnathan. “Finally, thank you to all of those folk who came and spent Christmas with us for a short while!” Check
their Facebook page for other events and Sunday Worship Services, or email
church.life.ak(at)gmail.com .
Apply for your 2010 PFD and support Alaska’s non-profits
Starting Friday, January 1, you can apply for the 2010 PFD on line at the
Permanent Fund Division and support the causes you care about through
Pick.Click.Give. Identity, Four A’s and Out North are examples of LGBT-supportive non-profits that can receive these donations, and you can make donations to more than one charitable organization with Pick.Click.Give. The 2010 PFD application period ends March 31.
Queer Alaska had a busy year! Here are some of the highs and lows compiled from the blog, the newsletter, and your suggestions on Bent’s Facebook wall:
Best moment: The Anchorage Assembly passed the LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance.
Worst moments: Mayor Sullivan vetoed the nondiscrimination ordinance and Debbie Ossiander refused to override the veto.
Sweet Consequences moment: Ossiander was fired from the chair position on the Assembly.
Best LGBT improvement
State: Fairbanks School District added gender identity to the non-discrimination policy
National: The federal Hate Crimes Act
Worst narrowly avoided disaster: Wayne Anthony Ross becoming Alaska’s Attorney General
Best allies: The 7 Assembly members who voted for the nondiscrimination ordinance, and all the allies who testified, wrote letters, and attended the hearings and protests, standing shoulder to shoulder with us in support of equality and against the forces of hate. Honorable mention to the Fairbanks allies who protested against the ex-gay speaker at UAF.
Worst homophobes: Mayor Sullivan? Debbie Ossiander? Rev. Prevo? Wayne Anthony Ross? Those crazed bigots spitting hellfire and homophobia at the Assembly hearings? So many to choose from.
Best visiting LGBT celebrity: Dan Savage, author of The Slog
Best LGBT movie shown in Alaska: MILK at the Bear Tooth in Anchorage, the Blue Loon in Fairbanks, and the Pioneer Theater in Homer. Honorable mentions: Outrage at the Bear Tooth, and Brother Outsider at the Anchorage Museum.
Best LGBT live theater: Midnight Soapscum at Out North, The Lion Sings Tonight benefit for Four A’s, Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Pier One in Homer and Mad Myrna’s in Anchorage, Sordid Lives at Myrna’s, Dog Sees God at Out North, and Shakespeare’s R&J by Thunder Mountain in Juneau.
Best solo shows: Tim Miller at Out North, and Bryan Emler at MCC.
Biggest events in Anchorage: PrideFest, Coronation, Celebration of Change, and the True Diversity Dinner
Fairbanks: the protests against the ex-gay speaker at UAF, the Fetish Ball, and PFLAG in the Golden Days parade
Juneau: Femme Fatale, the Pride Picnic, and the Pride Chorus concerts
Homer: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and MILK
Mat-Su: April’s Follies
Event most celebrated by LGBT people in different parts of Alaska:
July 4th
(The 2008 event with the widest participation by LGBT people around Alaska was the Prop 8 protest.)
The ‘summer of hate’ against the non-discrimination ordinance was the real top story, but the most visited post on Bent Alaska is the humorous letter Wasilla Gays to Levi: We’re here with almost 7,000 hits.
The other Bent post that went viral this year, about Wayne Anthony Ross calling us degenerates, was crossposted on the national blog Pam’s House Blend. Likewise, the only ordinance post from Bent that got national attention, No Dead Queers, was picked up from the Blend diary.
Other top posts were on entertainment (gay man on The Alaska Experiment), homophobia (The Antichrist is Coming, and He’s Gay!), transgender (Kelly’s Story), and Sarah Palin. The lists of LGBT organizations and businesses were top posts again this year, perhaps because so many reporters want to interview queer Alaskans.
All of the top posts on LGBT issues in Fairbanks, Juneau and Homer involve students or schools, although that may be a coincidence. The top MatSu post is Levi, of course.
Top 9 in ’09
- Wasilla Gays to Levi: We’re here
- Palin’s AG Pick Called Gays “Degenerates”
- Where to find LGBT Alaska – Organizations
- Discovery Channel Discovers Gays on The Alaska Experiment
- No “Dead Queers” means No Discrimination
- Palin Supports Gay Rights? (still a top post in 2009)
- Kelly’s Story: A Transgender Christian Woman (unavailable, at her request, because her church leaders made her life miserable when they recognized her.)
- The Antichrist is Coming, and He’s Gay!
- Where to Find GLBT Alaska – Business List
Top post quoted by Alaskan sites:
Top Fairbanks posts:
Top Juneau post:
Top Homer post:
Top Mat-Su post:
Sunday, 27 December 2009 – 2:28 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Roundup 12/27/09
This week’s LGBT news roundup from Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Mexico City, Mexico, Reuters, December 22, 2009
Dallas, Texas, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Memphis, Tenn., Memphis Flyer, December 26, 2009
Washington, Advocate, December 22, 2009
Gaza City, Palestine, CNN, December 17, 2009
Washington, 365Gay.com, December 22, 2009
Pasadena, Calif., Episcopal Life Online, February 23, 2009
Chicago Tribune, December 23, 2009
Center for Gay & Lesbian Studies in Religion and Ministry, October 18, 2009
Iowa, Advocate, December 23, 2009
Advocate, December 24, 2009
The Cap Times, December 14, 2009
Sunday, 20 December 2009 – 4:34 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Roundup 12/20/09
This week’s LGBT world and US news roundup from Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Washington, D.E., Advocate, December 18, 2009
Out Magazine
Washington, UPI, December 13, 2009
Beijing, China, AFP, December 10, 2009
E.U., BBC News, December
Washington, Advocate, December 16, 2009
San Francisco, PR Newswire, December 16, 2009
365Gay.com, December 1, 2009
Advocate, December 11, 2009
Fresno, Calif., San Diego Union-Tribune, December 16, 2009
Uganda, Africa, CBS2.com, December 17, 2009
Whales, CNN, December 20, 2009
Whales, Telegraph, December 20, 2009
Washington, D.C., Washington Post, December 20, 2009
