A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Jerry Merryman (1938–2011)

Jerry Merryman lived in Anchorage for 17 years and his ‘home away from home’ was The Raven. He died of massive heart failure on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011 in Alturas, California. A friend who also used to live in Anchorage sent the obituary to Bent Alaska today. Jerry’s family did not know how to contact his friends in Alaska (and did not acknowledge in the obituary that he was gay.)

Kobe and The Lakers make a PSA for gay acceptance

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers recorded a video message against bullying and anti-gay language as part of GLSEN’s “Think Before You Speak” campaign. After calling a referee an anti-gay slur during a live broadcast of a recent basketball game, Kobe claimed that his use of “f—king f—-t” was not a slur against LGBT people. [WTF?] He was given a $100,000 NBA fine, which he is appealing.

Gleek out at Anchorage Pride Prom

Pride Prom 2011 will be fabulous, with live performances in the Glee theme, a prize for best costume, and plenty of music to keep you dancing ’til midnight!

The annual youth dance is open to teens who support the LGBTQ community. It is drug-free and alcohol-free, and ID’s will be checked.

The costume contest will be judged by an expert panel for best in-character Glee costume, and the audience will get to decide the final contest winner.

Dress to impress (it’s officially semi-formal, prom dresses and suits are fine but not required) or dress as your favorite Glee character. Either way, be ready to dance.

Pride Prom 2011 will be held at Out North, a community theater and art space located kitty corner from Costco on Debarr and Bragaw. Parking is available on Primrose Street. (Do NOT park at the church next to Out North.) The evening is hosted by Identity Inc, with thanks to Out North, ICOAA, PFLAG, AMP, and ADK’s Deejays.

Come meet new teens and have a great time with your friends!

Pride Prom 2011
Saturday, April 23
8pm – midnight
Ages: 14-19
Cost: $10
Where: Out North Theater
3800 Debarr Rd, Anchorage

Driftwood to Wasilla: Moose Sausage from a Lesbian Hunter in Alaska

“Whenever people ask me about the Tour, I always tell them the surprise hit for me was our journey to Alaska.”

The I’m From Driftwood team visited Alaska in November for their national LGBT story project, and the first video interview from Alaska was recently uploaded. They also have five written stories posted by LGBT Alaskans from Eagle River, Anchorage, Juneau and Kotzebue.

For Nathan Manske, project organizer of I’m From Driftwood, Alaska was a high point of the 50 state tour. When Lambda Literary asked “What was one of the most exciting or moving moments while on the road?” he replied:

Visiting Alaska was very memorable. It felt like a foreign trip on a domestic tour. I really had no idea what to expect from the people or places or community but what I found was that the LGBT community there was very tight-knit and diverse. We collected stories from teens in Wasilla and one from a villager, which is what native Alaskans call themselves. I know it’s feeding the stereotype a little to say it felt like a foreign land, but it did in the best way possible.

A quick little story…we were leaving Wasilla on our last day in Alaska, going back to Anchorage, and I told a new friend we had met who was driving us around that I was bummed I never got to have a moose burger. He explained restaurants can’t serve moose; you actually have to hunt them to eat them. He then told me he has a lesbian hunter friend who usually has some fresh moose in her freezer. He called her up and sure enough…we stopped by her place and she gave us some moose sausage. Moose sausage from a lesbian hunter in Alaska. Memorable indeed.

Nathan also told Windy City about Alaska:

Alaska and Hawaii fell at the midpoint of the trip and were very special points during the tour. “They weren’t easy to get to,” Nate remembered. “But that’s why we thought it was so important for us to go.” Nate reminisced that Hawaii seemed like a bit of a vacation, having been on the road for nearly two months. They hung out at Hula’s (Honolulu’s only gay bar) every day.

While in Alaska, they were recognized by a guy at Mad Myrna’s in Anchorage. He turned out to be an excellent tour guide taking them up to Wasilla, a town notorious for one of its residents: Sarah Palin.

“I felt it was important to get a story from Wasilla to show the LGBT youth there that someone is thinking about them in a positive light,” Nate said, “and to let them represent Wasilla the way they want it to be represented.”

They collected two video stories by young gay men from Wasilla: Cody and Lewis. Bent Alaska posted Cody’s video last week and we look forward to seeing Lewis’ video.

The team also wrote about the trip to Alaska on their IFD tour blog. They blogged about staying at The Copper Whale Inn, a gay-owned B&B in downtown Anchorage, meeting LGBT people at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center and at the bar Mad Myrna’s, spending a few hours in Wasilla, and collecting at least 5 video stories during their visit.

“Alaska was the surprise hit for me on the Tour. They’re a special people, those Alaskans. The LGBT community was very tight-knit. At Mad Myrna’s, there seemed to be an even mix of gays and lesbians. They all seemed to band together and appeared to be the perfect example of a unified queer community. The Alaskan scenery was breathtaking but it was all the people sticking together and creating a warm community that I’ll think of when I think of Alaska.”

Thanks for including Alaska in the I’m From Driftwood project!

American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer: Shoot grizzlies on sight

Bryan Fischer, spokesperson for the anti-gay American Family Association and host of their daily radio talk show, tweeted that grizzlies should be shot on sight. Bears aren’t the only ones Fischer doesn’t like. Who else would he shoot?

Growing Alaska’s LGBTQ non-profits and students

Tiffany McClain is coming to events in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau this month to talk about Pride Foundation and the good work they’re doing to fund LGBTQ non-profits and students in Alaska.

Sunrise to Sunset: Juneau Pride Chorus concert

The Juneau Pride Chorus had the honor of opening the Alaska Folk Festival last week, and announced their annual concert will be on Saturday, April 30 at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center (JACC). Chorus member Marsha Buck describes the songs they will sing at the concert and a goal for 2012:

We are singing 12 songs during the upcoming concert on April 30, including the coming out song “Annie” by Fred Small in which a teacher comes out to the rest of her faculty, the two songs heard at Folk Festival (“Over the Rainbow” and “Breakaway”), a set of three mostly humorous songs about relaxation and meditation including “Uh Huh” by Holly Near, two complex environmental songs entitled “The Peace of Wild Things” and “Sky Dances,” and we will end our concert with two jazz numbers accompanied by saxophone and percussion and bass – joined by local jazz singer Vicky Van Fleet. Other pieces include “Thank You” in several languages by Elise Witt and the gorgeous “Arise My Love” by Joan Szymko.

For this performance we are a chorus of 30 women and we have an additional 8 members who are unable to sing this concert because of schedule, family, or health conflicts.

We are beginning plans now to travel to Denver in July 2012 to sing in the GALA Choruses Festival (Gay And Lesbian Association of choruses) so the funds raised by ticket sales, donations, and the baked-goods silent auction will go toward our Denver travel fund.

We only do one major concert a season but perform in the Juneau community when asked throughout each season.

Last year’s concert was “Eye on Chicago,” a Chicago-themed concert and a fundraiser for the Chorus to participate in the 2010 Sister Singers Network Festival in Chicago. Previous concert themes were “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Strength” in 2009, and “Songs for the Soul” in 2008.

Juneau Pride Chorus is sponsored by PFLAG Juneau, and this year’s concert is cosponsored by Pride Foundation. Tiffany McClain, Pride Foundation’s regional organizer for Alaska, will be in Juneau for the concert. Stop by her table and nominate your favorite nonprofit for a mini-raffle. If your name gets pulled, the group will receive a $100 donation in your name from Pride Foundation.

Juneau Pride Chorus concert – Sunrise to Sunset
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Baked Goods Silent Auction at 6pm
Concert at 7:30pm
JACC, 350 Whittier Street

Tickets at the door:
$15 adults, $30 family
$12 students (K-12) and seniors (65+)

Sara’s News Roundup 4/17/11

Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser of Juneau, Alaska.

1) Leonard Pitts: Rights are rights, not gifts
Middleton Journal, March 23, 2011

2) California May Require Teaching of Gay History
Los Angeles, New York Times, April 15, 2011

3) GOP Antigay Site Vanishes
Advocate, April 12, 2011

4) Coming Out: The story of one openly gay athlete
Boston Globe, April 11, 2011

5) 9 million U.S. adults say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, study finds
Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2011

6) Kristen Chenoweth, ‘Glee,’ ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Project Runway’ among GLAAD Media Award winners
Los Angeles, Canada Yahoo News, April 11, 2011

7) First locally produced lesbian magazine appears in stores
Taipei, Taiwan, China post, April 10, 2011

8) NOM Strategist, Louis J. Marinelli, Declares Support For Same-Sex Marriage
Louis J. Marinelli Website

9) Gay Americans Make Up 4 Percent of Population
ABC News, April 8, 2011

10) Getting Your Numbers Straight, So to Speak
Huffington Post, April 4, 2011

11) Corvino: The meaning of transgender
365Gay.com, April 15, 2011

12) Mississippi Republicans are against interracial marriage
Mississippi, 365Gay.com, April 11, 2011

13) Filmmaker Traces Evolution of ‘Intersex’
Harvard, Harvard Crimson, March 28, 2011

14) Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex
Amazon.com

15) Trans rally to storm Canberra!
Australia, SameSame, March 24, 2011

16) Malaysia Censors Lady Gaga
Malaysia, Advocate, March 17, 2011

Dining Out For Life – Fairbanks

Join Interior AIDS Association (IAA) on April 28, 2011 for Dining Out for Life. A portion of your check goes to IAA when you dine at a participating restaurant on this day.

Restaurants
Ivory Jack’s (11am to 5pm)
Bobby’s Downtown (Dinner)
Lavelle’s (Dinner)

We would also like to thank our sponsors for this event, Interior Graphics & Printing. Please let the restaurants and sponsor know that you appreciate their generosity.

Dine Out, Fight AIDS

Celebration of Change 2011

Celebration of Change: “Asking, Telling, Celebrating!” will be held on April 23 at 7pm in the UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium. The after-party is at Mad Myrna’s, and your Celebration of Change 2011 ticket stub gets you into Myrna’s free that night.

This year’s Celebration theme is inspired by the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s gay ban, and honors Alaska’s women service members.

Celebration of Change is the annual fundraiser for Radical Arts for Women (RAW), a Lesbian and Feminist philanthropic organization that funds Alaskan women art projects.

Although it is respectfully an all-women produced and performed show aimed to give Alaskan women a venue to learn skills in event production and encourage their individual artistic talents, ALL are welcome to attend so invite your friends, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, and husbands! Just keep the children at home, for this is an ‘at your own risk’ performance for the mature audience.

Tickets are $15 at Metro Music & Books, the GLCAA, and at the door.

Celebration of Change 2011
Saturday, April 23, from 7-10pm
UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium
Anchorage, Alaska