Sunday, 6 October 2013 – 5:19 PM
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Bent Alaska’s blog will continue in hiatus indefinitely; but the Bent Alaska Facebook Group on Facebook is thriving — join us! A long-overdue update from Bent Alaska’s editor.
Laura O’Lacy wrote the following letter to the Anchorage Assembly in support of a trans-inclusive ordinance, describing the harassment and discrimination she has faced as a transgender woman trying to get a job in her field of training.
Sunday, 7 June 2009 – 1:55 PM
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[Editor’s Note: April wrote this “modest proposal” essay in response to Ivan Moore’s suggestion that we take protections for transgender people out of the ordinance. See In Support of a Transgender-inclusive Ordinance.]
You don’t wake up one morning and out of the blue decide that this is the day that your life has ended as the gender you were born as, and you now want to be known from here forward as the opposite sex, whether it be a male to female or a female to male. To begin to comprehend the concepts and defintions of “cross dresser”, “transvestite”, “transexual” and “transgender” is to push the contemporary limits and understanding of a host of social sciences, theories, definitions, and medical studies. Even among the minute collection of specialists in gender based areas, there is very little cohesion as to the cause and effect of who these groups of people come to be, and are, let alone how to “label” them within the common societal classifications we have come to know. While heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, androgynous, and transsexual are commonly refered too, where and how do we fit those who cross all over these aspects of sex and gender?
For eons and throughout cultures world wide, those who spanned the boundaries of gender were seen as ones who were granted special powers and status by the powers, gods, or beliefs held by those groups. They were seen as encompassing in some ways both genders, rather then one or the other, giving them the ability to comprehend life beyond the clearly defined boundaries of being either a male or female. The foundation of almost all creation myths, including the bible, refer back to an undefinable time when man and woman were one single entity and through some act, were seperated into two. Both Occidental and Oriental societies, symbolisms, and beliefs consistently refer back to this concept of one being, eventually divided into two. So why is it then so difficult and perverse for modern society to accept that what was held as something special then should be any different now? Do we not all come into this world as the result of a joining of a male and female, and is it so far reaching to believe that there are those who contain not one or the other, but both within the very core of who they may be genetically, physically, spiritually, socially and culturally?
Is it fear bred from ignorance, hatred, bigotry, or just a lack of coming to accept that a unique group of people does exist in society. That by recognizing that they not only exist now, and have always existed, that it will throw the entire dualistic nature of our society and beliefs into chaos? Or is it the sex, advertising, and porno industries who have saturated us so much with imagery of “chicks with dicks”, large hairy men in stretched out lacey women’s underwear, or male prostitutes dressed up as woman, that we can only conclude that anyone who dresses or acts as the opposite sex is strictly doing it for money, sexual deviance and/or perversion? Or as in Anchorage with the Ordinance, is it the voices of a handfull of fanatics, and their need for fame, spotlight and acknowledgement by opposing the nature of reality as it really is in order to fill their coffers, congregations, and advance their hidden political agendas?
Or does it come down to the most simple yet complex issue of our understanding of “normal” and what it is? That those fanatics who see their own worlds and perspectives as “normal” are in fact the “abnormal” ones. Should we accept their own twisted views of what their “normal” is rather than truly celebrating and protecting the stunningly incredible beauty and endless diversity of the people we all share this planet with? How long shall we allow or acknowledge anyone who fights to limit, define, and destroy anyone or anything that alludes to the truth? That we are all born as equals and will all die as equals, and that what we should be striving for is to treat and protect each other as equals during our lifetime regardless of our own individual uniqueness.
To the same degree, the issue of whether anyone should remove the “T” from “LGBTA” in order to make the Ordinance pass easier is another disturbing aspect of being transgendered. To someone who is openly transgendered and a noted supporter and advocate of the entire acroynm of “LGBTA” and more, those who support such a move show as much ignorance and bigotry as those who oppose the ordinance. It comes across as “cleansing” to get rid of the “freaks” rather then an effort to understand those of us who are the “T”, as much as the “GL” ask those who are opposed to homosexuality to understand them.
If some are set on allowing the ordinance to protect just the “LGB”, then they need to cleanse the Bisexuals from it as well, because they already have protection when they are with the opposite sex, or can pretend to be. Also get rid of the drag queens because most gay men prefer men, not men dressed or acting as women, and they can allude to money, sex, and perversion. Get rid of the Bears and Leather crowd because that can be seen as another act of perversion as well and will not make the ordinance “pure.” As for the gays and lesbians, in order to truly help this ordinace pass as purely as possible, you need to start verifying that every single person who uses “G” or “L” is such and has never had a relationship with the opposite sex. Get notarized statements from everyone in their lives all the way back to the day of birth to fully confirm that those who are “G” and “L” have never had a thought of being sexual with, or in a relationship with, the opposite sex or gender. If it’s purity you want from the ordinance, then start cleansing everyone who is not of pure homosexual blood from day one. In fact, require they have a “pride flag” tatoo on their body so you can identify them as pure “G & L” blood. Perhaps then, the Ordinance will pass with little fight, and you can finally live totally free of discrimination in Anchorage, while the rest of the unpure “LBGTA” family is led away, me and the transgendered people, where we are eventually denied our rights to housing, jobs and a happy life, and in turn, loaded onto buses, trains or driven off to other places so we don’t disrupt the new-found “equality” under the Ordinance. Sound far-fetched? Maybe so …
Saturday, 6 June 2009 – 10:30 PM
| Comments Off on Fire Victims say Thank You, Pride T-shirts on Sale, & SOSAnchorage.Net
Gay AK: Notes from LGBT Alaska
Congratulations to the people of New Hampshire, which became the 6th state in the U.S. to legalize same sex marriage.
Community pulls together for gay fire victims
The fundraiser for Garfield and Alvin, who lost their home in the Spenard fire on Memorial Day “was a HUGE success! We raised over $2,000 and received a number of gift cards,” wrote Bear, the contact person for donations. “In addition, a ‘ton’ of items was brought in for them (small appliances, clothes, dishes, blankets, etc.) I still have people contacting me to help out. The latest is that a couple is giving them a large color tv. And there are others who are waiting until the guys get settled so that they can donate more household things. This whole project has been litteraly amazing!”
“Garfield and Alvin cannot believe how this turned out. They found a place to live on June 1st. They both are doing much better in the attitude department and are very appreciative of everything that everyone has done for them. They say that every day things are getting better.” The men will sort through the donated items and decide what they can use and what they will pass on to other community members in need.
“Thank you all for your love and support of each other,” added Mary Bess Bohall. “Together we made a huge impact with this fundraiser. Together we can make a huge impact for our community. Thank you to all.”
PrideFest t-shirts on sale at the Center
The shirts for Anchorage PrideFest 2009 are on sale downtown at the Community Center. Check out the full calendar for the many wonderful Pride Week events! If you want to host an event, make sure you have contacted the Anchorage PrideFest committee. Vendor? Volunteer? Marching Unit? Find the information to participate in this year’s activities on the LINKS tab of the website. We can’t wait to join you on the Park Strip for a Celebration of Anchorage, The Last Queer Frontier!
“The purpose of Anchorage Ordinance AO NO. 2009-64 is very simply stated and long overdue for our community; it extends protection from workplace discrimination to include sexual orientation. However, Rev. Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple has vowed to strike down the ordinance, using all the powers of his congregation and bully pulpit. A website has emerged, www.sosanchorage.com, which highlights all the ‘damage’ that workplace equality will wreak upon our city. My fiance and I have erected a counter-website at www.sosanchorage.net to highlight the blatant falsehoods and misleading information. Please, check out sosanchorage.com to view the fearmongering, and then head over to sosanchorage.net and help us get the facts out! Tell your friends, and keep this going. June 9th is right around the corner.”
It was only a matter of time before someone who considers himself a supporter of the equal rights Ordinance took Prevo’s “men in dresses” bait and suggested that we dump the protections for transgender people. That someone was Ivan Moore.
Moore’s piece in today’s Anchorage Press supports the Ordinance but recommends that we only protect gays from discrimination. (He doesn’t mention lesbians or bisexuals.)
“On June 9, the Assembly should cut the words “or gender expression or identity” and the related language, and simplify the ordinance down to its real intent, to protect gays from being discriminated against. Gender expression and identity are simply not nice tidy subsets of sexual orientation, and so their placement as such is wrong. Personally, I think they should consider the inclusion of gender identity, but separately from orientation. Gender expression should be gotten rid of entirely, the mostly heterosexual crossdressers can just freaking do it in private, and the drag queens… well they don’t care, they like the controversy anyway.”
As far as I know, Moore is heterosexual. Equality Works shows the response from the GLBT community in their recent post:
“People need protection from discrimination on the basis of their gender identity/expression. No one — straight or gay — should be treated unfairly in work or the public sphere. Equality Works believes the small minority of transgender people in our community — people who have served in our military, who drive our taxis, and who have children and families to provide for — are no less deserving of employment and housing than anyone else. While some in our community try to paint transgender people as a dangerous threat, transgender men and women are far more likely to be the targets of violent harassment and discrimination than those who would refuse them equal opportunity under the law.”
Don’t play Prevo’s divide-and-conquer game. Stand with us in support of a transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination policy.
Monday, 1 June 2009 – 9:16 AM
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Alishia is a firefighter. Enoch is a university professor. Dana is a software engineer. Jesse is an HIV prevention educator. Each makes invaluable contributions in the work place and in the community. And each faces the threat of losing a job, being denied housing or health care, and suffering violence and harassment simply for being transgender.
In Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People, Alishia, Enoch, Dana, and Jesse talk about their jobs, their family, their hopes, and their worries. Framed by hope and optimism, their stories nevertheless show how vulnerable transgender people still are, and highlight the need for comprehensive laws to ensure that people can obtain and retain employment, remain safe on the streets, and have access to health care and housing.
Everyone Matters allows the viewer to hear from transgender people first-hand about their lives, and makes a powerful case for the passage of transgender-inclusive anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws.
Thursday, 26 February 2009 – 3:30 PM
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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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009 – 11:36 PM
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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.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 – 4:20 PM
| Comments Off on 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.
Calpernia Addams, the star of LOGO’s reality dating show TransAmerica Love Story and the subject of the film Soldier’s Girl, lived in Alaska for almost two years as a Navy medic, before returning to Nashville and coming out as transgendered.
Calpernia was stationed on Adak, and later received undergrad credits from the University of Alaska. She also founded a theater company of soldiers, and performed “Steel Magnolias,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and other productions.
While in Adak, she helped rescue passengers from a Chinese airplane, according to an entry in her blog diary:
Early morning on April 6th, 1993, when I was still a field combat medic in the Navy and living on a remote Alaskan island (yes, really!), a Chinese airliner encountered some kind of severe turbulence and had to land on the even more remote Alaskan island of Shemya. I was on duty in the emergency room that night, and volunteered to fly the quick hop over to Shemya and start processing the wounded.
The entry describes the medical needs of the Chinese passengers and the efforts to communicate with them, and concludes:
We got everyone stabilized, except for one poor soul who died. Later that day, a big plane from the mainland in Alaska arrived with medical teams to medivac the wounded back to Elmendorf Air Force Base hospital. I made the long trip (7 or 8 hours?) from Shemya to Anchorage with my patients, monitoring IV bags and vitals. It was quite a day for all of us on the Adak medical team.
Calpernia Addams is an actress, author, musician and activist currently living in Hollywood. As a co-founder of Deep Stealth Productions, she works to provide more accurate and positive portrayals of transgendered people, and to give a voice to transgendered actors and entertainers who are frequently relegated to roles which are demeaning stereotypes.
Last weekend, Calpernia was an honorary grand marshal at Atlanta Pride 2008, along with Grand Marshals Shonia Brown and Scott Turner Schofield. Scott, another trans artist with a connection to Alaska, performed his show “Becoming a Man” at Out North Theater earlier this year.
Thursday, 27 March 2008 – 8:56 AM
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by E. Ross
“I was born female.
I came out a lesbian.
Then I came out transgender.
Now, with legal changes and hormones, I live my life as a man.
I identify (pretty much) as a straight man.
But, mostly, people read me as a gay man.
That’s female, male, lesbian, gay, straight (but not narrow), and trans.
I live all of those facets of my identity, and make art about them.”
— From the desk of Scott Turner Schofield
Scott Turner Schofield, the first openly trans artist to be commissioned by the National Performance Network, is in Anchorage this week to perform “Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps” at Out North.
“Becoming a Man” presents true stories of Schofield’s personal transformation, including an army recruitment office where he tries to enlist and then “tells,” and a confrontation with his biological father.
Choose Your Own Adventure
Invited into the world of a childhood fort, the audience picks which of the 127 stories they want to hear. The stories focus on Schofield’s transition from female to male, exploring his origins, childhood and young adult life as a transgender person. Sometimes funny, sometimes shockingly honesty, these scenes last from 30 seconds to five minutes, featuring multi-media storytelling, aerial acrobatics and a decoder ring.
“Becoming a Man” is rated for Mature Audiences due to nudity, language and sexuality.
“There is full nudity, and it is the most un-controversial aspect of the show, though of course nobody will admit that until after they’ve seen it,” writes Schofield from his home in Atlanta, Georgia. “It’s a matter-of-fact primer on transgender surgeries done with lipstick and a trans body that is (gasp!) comfortable with itself.”
Contradictions and Comedy
Schofield has been the featured performer for events such as Unity Week, National Coming Out Day, Transgender Day of Rememberance, Pride and even Women’s History Month. His recently published book, Two Truths and a Lie, combines all three of his autobiographical plays.
Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls called him, “A provocative and compelling storyteller. [Schofield] helps us to look at gender in a new way, face our prejudices, and have fun while doing it.”
During a one week residency in Anchorage, Schofield will appear on radio shows, guest lecture a Women’s Studies class, and co-present theater workshops with director Steve Bailey.
The radio schedule includes Thursday 8:30 am on 90.3 KNBA with host Danny Preston, Friday 1 p.m. on 91.1 KSKA’s Stagetalk with host Mark Muro, and Friday 3 pm on 88.1 KRUA with host Caroline Willis.
Established in 1985 as Out North, VSA arts of Alaska provides a forum for underrepresented artists, especially artists with disabilities, artists of color, gay/lesbian/bi/trans artists, and social activist artists.
“Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps” plays Thursday March 27 through Saturday March 29 at 7 p.m. and Sunday March 30 at 4 p.m. at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road. Tickets are $19 online and $20 at the door. Student rush tickets are $10 at the door with student ID.
The very real consequences of DADT repeal; seeking survivor benefits for same-sex partner of Alaska shooting victim; waiting on SCOTUS decision about whether it will hear Prop 8 case; and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
In this month’s “Ask Lambda Legal” column, Lambda Legal answers a question about the federal government’s longstanding ban against donations of blood from men who have sex with men (MSM).
Alaska Pride Conference 2012 kicks off on October 5 with a First Friday showing at Tref.Punkt Studio of Love is Love, a photographic exhibit of LGBT couples from across the state.
United for marriage: Light the way to justice. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26–27, in two cases about freedom to marry. Please join us on Tuesday, March 26, at the federal courthouse in Anchorage (7th & C) in a circle united for equality.
Pariah, a critically acclaimed film about a 17-year-old African-American woman embracing her lesbian identity, will screen at UAA on Friday, November 2, and will be followed by a discussion on acceptance in honor of Mya Dale. The event is free and open to the public.
