A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Three Fairbanks parties benefit LGBT groups

This Week in LGBT Alaska 4/16/10

Today is Day of Silence, when students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. At the end of DoS, Alaska students Break the Silence in Anchorage at the Pride Prom, in Fairbanks with a group scream and Drag Show, and in Juneau at an after-party with the Juneau Pride Chorus.

The Fetish Ball is on Saturday at Myrna’s, and the Womyn’s Dance is the same night at the Snow Goose.

Juneau

Breaks the silence at a Day of Silence after-party in the Juneau-Douglas High School commons on 4/16 from 4-5:15 p.m. with a special guest performance by the Juneau Pride Chorus. Friends and family members are welcome to attend.

SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.

Fairbanks

Join the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance for Day of Silence on 4/16 and break the silence at 5 p.m. in the quad area in front of the Wood Center, then gather in the Alumni Office Lounge for food and music.

The GSA’s Breaking The Silence Drag Show 4/17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hes Rec in the MBS complex, $5.

Wednesday Social Group, contact Joshua for the location.

Kenai Peninsula

Celebration, an LGBT art show in Soldotna, through the end of April at Art Works gallery.

Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.

Anchorage

Break the Silence in Anchorage at the Youth Pride Prom, a hate free dance for ages 14-19 on 4/16. The theme is Gender Bender, but dress up formal or semi-formal however you want. $6 at the door, 6-11 PM at Kincaid Park Chalet.

Renegade Art Show 4/17 & 4/18, 2-7 p.m. at 235 E. 9th Ave (up stairs).

Semi-annual Womyn’s Dance at the Snow Goose 4/17, 7:30 p.m. $5 donation requested.

Fetish Ball 2010 with a medical theme, all proceeds to benefit Four A’s, on 4/17 beginning at 8 p.m. $15 at Mad Myrna’s.

LipGloss Revue Adult Drag ExtravaGanza 4/17, 10 p.m. at The Kodiak Bar & Grill.

Reproductive Justice 101 at the YWCA Anchorage 4/21, 6:30p.m. Facilitated by Tiffany McClain.

PFLAG Anchorage Booth at Bi-Lingual & Multicultural Conference 4/21-4/23 at the Sheraton.

Identity Friend-Raiser at the Kodiak Bar & Grill 4/23, 4:30-7 p.m. snacks, music and cash bar.

Day of Silence events in Alaska

Break the Silence in Anchorage on Friday at Pride Prom, a hate free dance for ages 14-19. The theme is Gender Bender, but dress up formal or semi-formal however you want. $6 at the door, 6-11 PM at Kincaid Park Chalet.

Break the Silence in Fairbanks at 5pm in the quad in front of the UAF Wood Center for a Break the Silence scream, then gather in the Alumni Office Lounge for food, music, and friends. A Breaking the Silence Drag Show is on Saturday at the Hes Rec in the MBS complex, and the ICOAA’s Duchess Dixie will be performing. [Note: The UAF Gay-Straight Alliance won a Diversity Enrichment Award last weekend. Congratulations!]

Break the Silence in Juneau at a DoS after-party in the Juneau-Douglas High School commons from 4-5:15 p.m. with a special guest performance by the Juneau Pride Chorus! Friends and family members are welcome to attend.

Gay-Straight Alliance wins UAF Diversity Award

Sara’s News Round-up 4/11/20

Soldotna art show celebrates LGBT progress on the Peninsula

“It’s something we should be talking about on the Kenai Peninsula,” she said. “We are isolated, in a way, but we are part of the whole world. If we don’t address this issue we are going to be left behind.”

She said the show “could easily be a rant” but she wanted it to “be positive about the changes that are occurring.”

VanDevere, who identifies herself as bisexual, will be displaying one of her own abstract paintings with a caption about being how and who you are.

Other local artists who will be displayed include Donna Steele, Theresa Napolitano and Joe Kashi, along with Anchorage artists like Shelia Wyne.

Kiana Johnson, a senior at Skyview High School, said she wanted to be a part of the show to demonstrate support for gay and transgender people on the Peninsula.

“I have a lot of friends who are gay,” she said. “I thought it was a cool opportunity to show my art and a cool opportunity for people to gain acceptance throughout the community.”

Her painting is an abstract representation of figures and a tree. She said she was trying to depict a separation between the bland figures and their surroundings that she says signifies our misconceptions of people, based on what we think they should be.

“Having a show like this really shows how far we’ve come as a community,” said Sierra McKenzie Ball, a 2008 graduate of Soldotna High School who currently lives in Seattle.

Her two acrylic paintings, “Bound,” and “What are we made of,” are of people’s faces, she said, and a reflection on herself and her own bisexuality.

Having younger artists like Johnson and Ball display their work in “Celebrate” is something VanDevere is especially passionate about.

“The youth becoming adults now are way more open-minded.”

This Week in LGBT Alaska 4/9/10

Juneau

SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.

Fairbanks

Join the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance for Day of Silence on 4/16 and break the silence at 5 p.m. in the quad area in front of the Wood Center.

UAF GSA’s Breaking The Silence Drag Show 4/17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hes Rec in the MBS complex, $5.

Wednesday Social Group, contact Joshua for the location.

Kenai Peninsula

Celebration, an LGBT art show in Soldotna, through the end of April at Art Works gallery.

Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.

Anchorage

Ever Ready with Char & Teddy (guitars and vocals) live at Organic Oasis 4/10 at 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Equality Works Mixer 4/10, 7 p.m. with entertainment, education, and community-building

ICP Ball XVII: Magical Kingdom Masquerade 4/10 at Mad Myrna’s, doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m. tickets $10, proceeds benefit the Imperial Court.

PFLAG Potluck & Silent Auction 4/15. 6 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, to benefit Identity.

Youth Pride Prom at Kincaid Chalet 4/16, 6 p.m. no drugs, no alcohol, for ages 14-19 only (no college students.)

Anchorage waits for outcome of Midtown race

RAW 2010 Short Story Winners

Radical Arts for Women is pleased to announce the winners of the 4th annual RAW short story contest.

“We received entries from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna and Ketchikan. We had science fiction and down-to-earth tales, stories about jail and about rural Alaska.”

“Next year we will change the name of the contest to the Nicole Blizzard Short Story Contest. Nicole Blizzard was a local lesbian writer and editor who passed away in December. She created, published and edited the local LGBT literary journal Naked Ptarmigan (which also publishes the winner of the RAW short story contest), and last year Nicole published her first collection of short stories. We are pleased to rename the contest in honor of her.”

The Winners for 2010
Grand prize and winner of $500 – “Mail Plane” by Emily Sousa
2nd place and winner of $300 – “Itch” by Mel Green
3rd place and winner of $100 – “The Remaking of Audrey Lang” by CN McLaughlin
Honorable mention – “219s” by Amy Whinston
Honorable mention – “Gone, Fishing” by Audrey Fearnside

The winners were announced during the annual women’s performance Celebration of Change. A scene from the grand prize story “Mail Plane” was read during Celebration, and the full story is now posted on RAW’s web site. Mel posted her 2nd place winning lesbian love story “Itch” on her blog Henkimaa.

Clary: Gays = Drunks and Cheaters

Andy Clary is the son of Anchorage Baptist Temple’s Glenn Clary. But he doesn’t want us to judge him as an assembly candidate based on his ties to Jerry Prevo or his enthusiasm for Mayor Sullivan. He wants to be judged by his own words, and by his current church. So what is ChangePoint’s stand on gays? Pastor Dan Jarrell wrote on Feb 22:

“God doesn’t hate people who are homosexual; he hates what homosexuality does to people.”

WTF? That’s twisted. Jarrell also calls us “pernicious,” which means destructive in a sneaky way:

“Perhaps the most pernicious behavior of gay and lesbian activists is their effort to indoctrinate children and encourage the promulgation of their alternative lifestyle…”

And what about Clary? During last summer’s battle for the jobs and housing ordinance, he was a staff writer for the anti-ordinance Alaska Standard and he wrote:

“Now, before I go any further, let me say that I am opposed to the ordinance myself, but for very different reasons. You see, I am a committed follower of Christ, and although I believe homosexuality is not a lifestyle that Christ approves of, I see it no differently than other sins such as alcoholism or adultery. Why do we Christians lash out against one sin so differently than we do any other? We need to be reaching these people not tearing them down.”

“These people”? He might have more success in reaching out to “these people” if he didn’t compare our loving families to chronic drunks and cheaters.

“What if some simply have not found answers to the tough questions they have? For instance, why is it that some people struggle with homosexual tendencies their whole life and others do not? It is the same as alcoholism. Some people are predisposed to certain types of behavior…”

Many gays and lesbians are comfortable with our natural and God-given sexuality. What we struggle against is the stigma of being different and the anti-gay prejudice of people like Clary.

“Finally, to answer the question, “Should you legislate morality?”, clearly the answer is again, no. It cannot be done, nor should it be done.”

The religious right often tries to legislate morality, as long as it’s their own moral interpretations that get promoted. Does he really mean that we shouldn’t have laws against murder and rape?

Clary told the Anchorage Press that he grew up in Prevo’s church where his father is assistant pastor:

“I have my own beliefs and I don’t agree with my father on everything. Yes, I grew up at that church; I do not attend there now. People will just have to judge me on myself.”

So he agrees with his father on most things, including his opposition to gay rights, but not on everything. What are the disagreements? He doesn’t say. But he belongs to ChangePoint now. Here are more quotes from the anti-gay ChangePoint article by Clary’s pastor:

“There are no reasonable grounds for considering same-sex unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage…”

“Support ministries that offer help, hope, and healing to those affected by homosexuality. Exodus International is one example of an effective effort to provide a way out for homosexuals who want help.”

Being gay is not a sickness that needs healing. Prejudice is the sickness. The pray-away-the-gay methods used by Exodus have been discredited over and over, but churches like ChangePoint and ABT continue to push the “ex-gay” lies.

Jarrell also tells his church members to become politically active against gays:

Get involved in the political process supporting any effort to preserve a biblical definition of marriage as a life-long, intimate partnership between one man and one woman.

And they have their own anti-gay “pernicious indoctrination” class for children:

There are many excellent tools available for any parent wanting to instruct their adolescent child about marriage, sex, and family issues… ChangePoint’s Due North program for 6th grade girls and boys is exceptional as well, get your kids involved.

How sad for those kids, especially the LGBT ones and their parents.

So, in his own words, Andy Clary thinks that gays (“these people”) are struggling with a lifestyle like alcoholism and adultery. His current pastor calls us “pernicious,” pushes harmful pray-away-the-gay methods, and encourages church members to get involved in politics against gay rights. Sounds close enough to Prevo.

This is NOT who we want to represent us on the Anchorage Assembly.