Articles in Resources
UA retired professor on coming out in the sciences
The writers at boingboing realized they’d never seen a Coming Out Day feature dedicated to the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered persons in the sciences and engineering, and hoped to add to the diversity of stories and help science-minded young queer folks everywhere know that it does, indeed, get better.
Early Oppression Led to a Happy Life in the Sciences
Becoming a minister was my first career goal but the clash between being gay and the church killed that intention. At the same time—age 16—being gay also got me kicked out of my parent’s house. In high school I had won science fair awards, prompting the military to persistently recruit me, so with the seminary door closed I decided to become an officer. Military college tuition and benefits were a tantalizing opportunity for a teenager on his own with no money … but while actually filling out the induction papers at the recruiting station I discovered I had the option to either lie about being gay and be in, or be honest and be out. I chose to be out—in more ways than one. The remaining career path on my list? Science. I worked my way through university in part by serving food to military-funded students and washing their dirty dishes, yet am still glad I did not lie. A life in the sciences has worked out so much better!Internships and field studies with the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesian Institutes of Ecology and Parasitology, and in industry led to decades of work on a diverse range of fascinating and rewarding projects. Human ecology in Java, mariculture in Ecuador, agricultural research in New Jersey and California, health science education and disease prevention projects in Alaska and Nepal. At some junctures being gay in the sciences has meant hitting a glass ceiling, no doubt about it; for example, the same year I ultimately won a national award I was conspicuously passed over at the state level in Alaska. There has been definite progress over the years, though, thanks in large part to the efforts of NOGLSTP working with AAAS and other professional associations.As with being LGBTIQ, being a scientist is as much—if not more—a privileged perspective and invaluable approach to perceiving and understanding the world than how one is defined by professional employment or simply by the nominal fact of for whom one feels affection. Whenever I work with students I have them draw a scientist; they usually draw a man in a lab coat pouring chemicals or peering through a microscope. Especially with LGBTIQ youth, I know I have been successful when at the end of the course I ask them again to draw a scientist and they draw a smiling self-portrait. Out and proud career role models for LGBTIQ youth have too long been restricted to hairdressers, dog groomers, and positions in the arts.Our youngest recently graduated from high school and flew the nest for university; with her away my partner and I decided to retire. We moved from Alaska to Hawaii, where I am beginning work with some local efforts on rat lungworm, dengue fever, and other emergent and resurgent tropical diseases as well as with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders). Overall, life as a gay man in the sciences these past decades has been good; thanks to folks like you being out and proud I expect the outlook for our children and students to be even better.
Alaskans speak out on National Coming Out Day
The events of recent weeks beg the question: What is it in our culture that says that gay lives are worthless? Gay teens commit suicide because others tell them their lives are not worth living. And homophobes go so far as to verbally and physically attack gay people, believing their actions are perfectly justified.As chairs of Identity Inc., the organization that runs the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage, we take the view that political inequality is a key piece of the problem. The lack of legal protections for the gay community both in Alaska and across the country legitimizes anti-gay bias and harassment.The kind of virulent homophobia that leads to hate crimes and teen suicides is not limited to the Outside — just recall the sea of red shirts at the Loussac Library when the Anchorage Assembly considered Ordinance 64. That Mayor Sullivan vetoed the ordinance means that right now in Anchorage, we can be fired from our jobs, kicked out of our apartments, or refused service in a restaurant based on our sexuality and have no legal protections.By letting discrimination slide, the city of Anchorage is saying that gay and transgender Alaskans are less valuable members of the community.This National Coming Out Day, we say that it is time for things to change — time for Anchorage to stand for fairness and equality.
I have heard that Alaskans get things done. I have heard that Alaskans pull together, crossing social boundaries to get through tough times. We must take action against this tragic possibility facing our young people, a possibility that no doubt many of us have faced down in our own families, whether gay, perceived to be gay, or were bullied for other reasons. At the very least, we must stop being silent about it. Coming out is for everyone: Come out as an ally, come out as conflicted but accepting of all people, come out as pro-life and therefore anti-bullying, come out and make a majority that does not tolerate hate, nor the tactics of shame, nor the senseless death of good people. You never know how what you say can affect a person: say your support for a hate-free community out loud.
I do not write this to capitalize on a disturbing national trend. I write this to break my own silence on an issue rooted deep in my own heart. When my own identity issues brought me to seriously consider suicide as a teen, a place very much like Out North kept me alive: They told me I was okay, and gave me an outlet for my otherwise destructive energy. I owe it to the child I was then to speak to children and adults now. I am grateful that I am alive to do so, and grateful that I have something to offer. I offer it sincerely.Out North’s motto is Art for Everyone, No Exceptions. Whatever your identity, but especially if you are an LGBTQ teen who doesn’t know why to stick around for tomorrow, you are welcome here. We encourage you to explore your own mind, to work and laugh with people who are different from you, to learn how there is strength in diversity. We are holding a place for you in our community, and we are excited for you to fill it, whoever you are. We invite you to drop in from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., every day after school. We have a drug-free space to do your homework, create your own art, volunteer your time, and share your experiences with new friends. We want to know you.But seriously, if you feel isolated, we beg you to let your first act—before your final act—be to come see us, tell us your story, and let us tell you that you are valued.
Today is National Coming Out Day
- It’s 2010 and you can still be fired from your job in 29 states (including Alaska) for being lesbian, gay or bisexual and in 38 states (including Alaska) for being transgender. Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) now!
- It’s 2010 and almost 90% of LGBT youth experience harassment in school, and too many lives have been lost. Include gender identity and sexual orientation in anti-bullying programs!
- It’s 2010 and only five states plus DC recognize that love, not gender, is what matters in a marriage. Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act now!
- It’s 2010 and more than 14,000 servicemembers have been discharged from the military under the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. Repeal DADT now!
- It’s 2010 and the government’s failure to recognize LGBT families for immigration purposes tears bi-national couples and families apart. Pass the Uniting American Families Act now!
Former Alaskan speaks to Pentagon on DADT and gay partners
Dan Savage: "It Gets Better"
Savage Love columnist Dan Savage, who spoke to sold out crowds at UAA two years in a row, has a new video project to give hope to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer youth who are harassed for being different and remind them that there is life after high school – and it can be great!
It started when Savage wrote a column about a gay teenager in Indiana who killed himself:
Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother’s property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.
Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.
“My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas,” a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. “I wish I could have told you that things get better.”
I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
But gay adults aren’t allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don’t bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.
Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don’t have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.
So here’s what you can do: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.
I’ve launched a channel on YouTube—www .youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don’t dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we’ve gone and things we’ve experienced—that we would’ve missed out on if we’d killed ourselves then.
[snip]
We can’t help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don’t think they have a future—and we can help them.
They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.
Dan Savage and his husband Terry talk about being bullied in high school for being gay and how their lives got so much better as adults:
Do you have a good story to tell about how life got better for you as an adult? They want to hear your story of How It Got Better!
It would be great to get some more videos that include more than one person. Gay couples, groups of friends, straight people and their gay friends. And we have lots of videos from folks who are focusing on what they suffered—which absolutely should be touched on. But it would be great to see some more videos that give young gay kids a picture of the lives they could make for themselves if they just hang in there… So if you decide to make a video, don’t just share your pain. Share your joy too.
There are dozens of videos listed as favorites on the It Gets Better YouTube site, and now cities are joining the project.
San Francisco was the first city to respond with an “It Gets Better” video. Check it out:
If you’re in Alaska and you make an “It Gets Better” video, please send the link to Bent Alaska so I can post it here as well.
There’s a big beautiful world out there waiting for you. It gets better. Trust me.
What will you lose if the anti-gays win?
Anti-gay extremists are growing louder. But they don’t just want to stop progress, they want to roll it back.If they win, they’ll kick brave troops out of the military, stop partner visitation rights in hospitals and prevent gays and lesbians from adopting kids who need loving homes.They’ll make sure its legal to fire us for being gay or transgender.Some have even said it’s time to criminalize homosexuality itself.If they win, what will you lose?
Had enough? Take action!Tell us in a 15-second video what YOU would lose if the extremists win. Upload your video to this site and tell your friends and family to watch it and watch other videos from LGBT Americans and their allies.ORSign the pledge and tell your friends and family what you’d lose if anti-gay extremists win this November. Pledge to support candidates this November who speak openly and honestly about the LGBT community. To counter the lies and hate spread by anti-gay extremists and the campaigns they’re dumping millions of dollars into across the country.Make sure the people who love you know what will happen if we don’t keep fighting.Make sure they know what you’ll lose.
The Community Survey: Who We Are
— by Mel Green, Crossposted from alaskacommunity.org.
In announcing the Alaska LGBT Community Survey — I call it AKQ for short — I frequently used the word “we.” “We’ve decided…,” “we’ll use the survey…,” “we aim….”
So just who are “we” — besides, of course, me?
In 1985-1986, “we” were the volunteers of Identity, Inc. which put together the survey instrument for One in Ten, administered it to LGB respondents throughout the state, tallied up the results, & wrote the report One in Ten: A Profile of Alaska’s Lesbian & Gay Community (1986).
In 1987-1989, “we” were a lot of volunteers & a few people who got some pay (I think), who contacted & interviewed respondents who had experienced violence, harassment, discrimination because they were, or were perceived to be, lesbian or gay (yes, some of our respondents were heterosexual people who were misperceived at being homosexual), who surveyed Anchorage area landlords & employers, & who compiled the information gathered from those efforts & wrote them up in Identity Reports: Sexual Orientation Bias in Alaska (1989).
Right here & now, on September 13, 2010, “we” are three people who met last Thursday & decided to do this. Let me introduce us:
- Melissa S. “Mel” Green. I was part of the “we” in both 1985-86 effort that resulted in One in Ten, of which I was principal writer; and in the 1987-1989 effort which resulted in Identity Reports, of which I was coauthor (along with Jay Brause). I’m also have my personal blog, Henkimaa.com, from whence I did a lot of blogging last year about the Anchorage equal rights ordinance AO-64, which passed the Anchorage Assembly only to be vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan. I’m also a 20-year staff member at the UAA Justice Center, where I’ve grown even more familiar with social science research, and developed relationships with some of the research faculty who we hope to have help from throughout our work on the current survey.
- Shelby Carpenter is the LGBT Public Policy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska… and I’ll let her tell you more about herself as she has time. [Ed: Read Shelby’s introduction.]
- Barbara Soule is a longtime Alaska resident and LGBT community activist who is jumpstarting our outreach to the trans community. I’ll let you her tell you more about herself as she has time, too.
By now, you might be asking, three people?!!! Just three people are going to conduct a high quality research project covering the LGBT population of the entire state of Alaska?!!!
Well, no. Because our very first step is to bring in more people. So right now the three of us are doing a lot of work behind-the-scenes to contact people to form our Community Survey Task Force. The Task Force’s job will be defined more completely as its formed; but as I see it, it’s functions will chiefly be to:
- Revise and update the One in Ten survey questionnaire to reflect changes in society that have taken place since 1985, the need for trans-inclusiveness, and new questions/issues that we’d like to address in the survey. (And perhaps additional smaller surveys.)
- Continue to conduct outreach to the LGBT and allied community in all areas of the state, both for complete coverage of our community in all its diversity, and in particular to solicit respondents who are willing to be interviewed about instances of discrimination, harassment, violence, or other forms of bias that they have experienced because they are, or were perceived to be, trans, bisexual, gay, or lesbian.
- Coordinate distribution and administration of the survey, data entry, and analysis and writing of the report(s) of our findings.
We hope to have our first meeting of the Community Survey Task Force in late September/early October. By the necessities of geography and the inability of most people to be more than one place at one time, it may be that our first meeting can consist of only those people who can easily travel to Southcentral Alaska for an Anchorage-based meeting. But we will be working on how to make sure we can fully involve both organizations and individuals in all parts of the state.
Another task that we’re working on already is beginning our outreach to the trans community. We are committed to making AKQ — again, that’s what I’ve taken to calling the Alaska LGBT Community Survey for short — fully trans-inclusive, not only in the kinds of questions that appear in the survey — but also in participating on the Task Force in questionnaire design, administration, and analysis. All three of us are involved in some aspect of this, with Barbara and I contacting people we know in the Alaska trans community & Shelby working with national-level trans organizations and activists who have conducted research within the trans community throughout the country.
Barbara is also coordinating focus groups for members of the trans community to get input on questionnaire design. We hope to hold the first of these at the Alaska Pride Conference 2010 sponsored by Identity, Inc. to be held October 9 in Anchorage and a second one probably about a week later, also in Anchorage, for those who cannot attend the Pride Conference. We’ll also work on how we can involve transfolk in other areas of the state in our research effort.
As we continue to organize our effort, I hope soon to be able to introduce other people involved in this effort on this blog; better yet, to let them introduce themselves & add their voices to this blog, & to our overall effort to invigorate & strengthen our community statewide & advance our effort for full social and economic justice for LGBT in Alaska & nationally.
Stay tuned to our progress and news about how to get involved by subscribing to this blog, “liking” our Facebook page, and/or following our Twitter feed @alaskacommunity. You can also write to us at anchoragecommunity@gmail.com. You can also find all our contact info on our About page.
Announcing the Alaska LGBT Community Survey
Crossposted from alaskacommunity.org.
Identity Reports (1989) and One in 10 (1986)In the 1980s, the nonprofit organization Identity, Inc. conducted two major research efforts to profile Alaska’s lesbian/gay/bisexual community and to document sexual orientation bias in Alaska.
One in Ten: A Profile of Alaska’s Lesbian & Gay Community (1986) provided the first statewide portrait of Alaska’s lesbian and gay (and to some extent bisexual) population, describing our experiences of coming out, of discrimination, our physical and emotional health, religious and political affiliations, demographic characteristics, and a general needs assessment. Identity Reports: Sexual Orientation Bias in Alaska(1989) focused on discrimination and bias, documenting 84 actual instances of antigay bias, discrimination, harassment, or violence (including three murders) around the state, as well as the positive willingness of 20% of landlords and 31% of employers in the Anchorage area to discriminate against persons who were — or were perceived to be — gay or lesbian.
A lot has changed in the two-and-a-half decades since. There’s a lot more live-and-let-live, a lot more acceptance of lesbians and gays. Yet the continuing legacy of antigay prejudice and discrimination persists. Arguably, prejudice against transfolk is even more virulent — often even within our own community.
One of the chief arguments used by opponents of last year’s Anchorage Ordinance 64 — which would have added sexual orientation and gender identityto the Municipality of Anchorage’s equal rights code — was that there was no evidence of discrimination against LGBT people. This claim was made in spite of the weight of evidence provided in One in Ten and Identity Reports. But of course, that evidence was two decades old, so ordinance opponents found it easy to ignore; and they found it just as easy to close their ears to the public testimony of Anchorage LGBT residents who stepped forward to testify to very recent experiences of discrimination and bias — even as one opponent openly told the Assembly that he’d once beaten a gay man so badly that he put him in the hospital.
And so — we’ve decided to bring One in Ten up-to-date by conducting a new statewide survey — the Alaska LGBT Community Survey. Like its predecessor, the Alaska LGBT Community Survey aims to create a profile of our community in all its diversity and with all its diverse concerns; and as we did in 1985-86, we’ll use the survey as vehicle to solicit case histories to document our community’s continuing experiences with discrimination, harassment, and violence. Unlike One in Ten, the Alaska LGBT Community Survey will include transfolk as well as gay, lesbian, and bisexual folk, in the design of the survey questionnaire as well as in filling it out.
We’re in a very early stage right now. We just made the firm commitment to do this last week! But we wanted to tell you about it right away.
We aim to have at least initial results of our survey by April 2011. For more and continuing information as we go along:
- subscribe to our blog at alaskacommunity.org;
- “like” our Facebook page;
- follow @alaskacommunity on Twitter; or
- do all three!
We’ll also doing our best to keep you updated through our regular LGBT news channels such as Bent Alaska, TransAlaska Pipeline, Grrlzlist, the Alaska GLBT News maillist, and — well, yeah, my own blog, Henkimaa.
Stay tuned!
— Melissa S. (Mel) Green
Imperial Court crowns Emperor & Empress, gives awards & scholarships at Coronation
Congratulations to the new Emperor and Empress of the Imperial Court of All Alaska: Cory and Paige!
The top title holders were announced at Coronation, along with the Court’s community awards and student scholarships.
The ICOAA gave out 26 scholarships totaling $25,000, and these awards:
Peter Dispirito Community service Award – Vicki Evans
Wayne Hussey Community Service Award – Gail Palmer
Raymond Jorgenson Organization award – Anchorage Ducal Court (Mikel Wiles and Colleen Crinklaw)
Rochelle DeLite Fairbanks Community Award – PFLAG of Fairbanks
President’s Service to the Board Award – Mary Bess Bohall
The following are new awards decreed by Emperor and Empress Kevin and MeMe:
Lynn “Honey” Howard Court Member of the Year – Dan Thunder aka Bella and Aaron Finch
Michael Meeks Denali Award – Denali Emperor 25 Mikey LaChoy and Denali Emperor 31 Scott Turner
Misty Dawn Aurora Award – Aurora Empress 28 Eve, Aurora Empress 29 Joani LaChoy and Aurora Empress 31 Vicki Evans aka Sister Mary Sunshine
Congratulations to all of the award and scholarship recipients!
The Imperial Court is the oldest and largest not-for-profit GLBTA organization in the state of Alaska. They give scholarships to Alaskan students each year, and raise money for other charitable organizations in the state.
Channel 11 aired a short interview with the previous Emperor & Empress, Kevin & MeMe, at Coronation. (The story incorrectly states that the Emperor & Empress were elected at Coronation, but the voting took place on August 21, and that the Duke & Duchess were also announced at Coronation, but the ducal balls were held earlier in the summer. Still, we appreciate the coverage of our events.)
Watch the story:
Suicide Prevention Week
- In the United States, more than 34,000 people die by suicide each year (2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC).
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds, accounting for over 12% of deaths in this age group; only accidents and homicide occur more frequently (2006 National Adolescent Health Information).
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death on college campuses (2008 CDC).
- For every completed suicide by a young person, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made (2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey).
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Massachusetts 2007 Youth Risk Survey).
- More than 1/3 of LGB youth report having made a suicide attempt (D’Augelli AR – Clinical Child Psychiatry and Psychology 2002)
- Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt (Grossman AH, D’Augelli AR – Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior 2007)
- Questioning youth who are less certain of their sexual orientation report even higher levels of substance abuse and depressed thoughts than their heterosexual or openly LGBT-identified peers (Poteat VP, Aragon SR, et al – Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2009)
- LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are more than 8 times as likely to have attempted suicide than LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection (Ryan C, Huebner D, et al – Peds 2009;123(1):346-352)
- It is estimated that between 20 and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (2006 National Gay & Lesbian Task Force: An Epidemic of Homelessness). 62% of homeless LGB youth will attempt suicide at least once—more than two times as many as their heterosexual peers (Van Leeuwen JMm et al – Child Welfare 2005)
