Articles by Bent Alaska
Bent Alaska is Alaska's LGBTQA blog founded by E. Ross in March 2008 and now edited (as of October 2011) by Melissa S. (Mel) Green.
World AIDS Day 2011: Aiming for zero
World AIDS Day is Thursday, December 1. The Four A’s and the Interior AIDS Association have organized events including candlelight vigils in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 each year around the world. It has become one of the most recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. Events including candlelight vigils are scheduled in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
More than one million people are living with HIV in the U.S., and more than one in five (21%) of them are unaware of their infection, according to estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) reports that there have been 1,394 reported cases of HIV infection in Alaska since 1982. In 2010, 38 Alaskans were newly diagnosed with HIV.
Internationally, the theme of World AIDS Day for 2011 to 2015, as decided by the World AIDS Campaign’s Global Steering Committee, is Getting to Zero: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. The Four A’s has joined in with this theme, declaring its own theme this year as Aim for Zero:
We are aiming for zero stigma, zero discrimination, zero risk, zero new cases and most importantly, zero deaths.
The Four A’s and the Interior AIDS Association have organized events including candlelight vigils in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
Anchorage
Join us at Four A’s for a night of awareness and a candlelight vigil. Following the vigil from 9 to midnight, there will a Condom Pub Crawl in downtown Anchorage bars, during which AMP and VOX will be distributing free red ribbons and condoms.
- Date/time: Thursday, December 1, 6:00–7:30 PM
- Location: Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s), 1057 W Fireweed, Ste 102, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Fairbanks
Join the Interior AIDS Association, West Valley High School GSA, and the Pride Foundation for an evening in commemoration of World AIDS Day. Refreshments at 5:30; program including presentations from the West Valley High School GSA and the Pride Foundation begin at 6pm. The evening will end with a candlelight vigil at 7.
- Date/time: Thursday, Dec 1. Refreshments at 5:30 PM; program begins 6:00 PM; candlelight vigil begins 7:00 PM.
- Location: Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, 101 Dunkel St, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
- Further info: see Interior AIDS Association Calendar of Events or the Facebook events page
Juneau
- Date/time: Thursday, December 1, 6:00 PM
- Location: Baranof Hotel, 127 N Franklin St, Juneau, AK (see map)
Sara’s News Roundup 11/28/11: Phyllis Lyon celebrates 87
Longtime LGBT activist Phyllis Lyon turns 87, the impact of same-sex marriage in the presidential race, and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Rachel Maddow Wishes LGBT Activist Phyllis Lyon Happy Birthday – Video
SheWired, November 22, 2011
On November 16, Rachel Maddow wished pioneering LGBT rights activist Phyllis Lyon Happy Birthday at Phyllis’ “Big Birthday Bash” sponsored by Lyon-Martin Health Services on November 16, 2011 at the San Francisco LGBT Center (her 87th birthday was actually on November 10). Watch:
Lyon-Martin Health Services provides personalized healthcare and support services to women and transgender people who lack access to quality care because of their sexual or gender identity, regardless of their ability to pay.
2) Gay Marriage Could Bring Shifts in Republican Race
Concord, New Hampshire, Associated Press, November 24, 2011
3) Gay marriage message takes gentler tone in Maine
California, San Francisco Chronicle, November 21, 201
4) Opinion: Keeping Marital Secrets Closeted
New York Times, November 24, 2011
Baltimore, Maryland, Marketwire, October 28, 2011
6) Seniors Know The Key to Happiness
Advocate, November 21, 2011
7) Young, Gay And Homeless: Fighting For Resources
NPR, November 20, 2011
8) The Flesh and the Spirit
Advocate, November 23, 2011
9) Two Spirit Documentary Breaks PBS Records
Advocate, November 19, 2011
10) The Gay Men’s Chorus strives to stay relevant
Sacramento, Calif., Sacramento Bee, November 27, 2011
11) Transgender Player Helps American Samoa to First International Soccer Win
Apia, Samoa, New York Times, November 25, 2011
12) I’m Retiring the Word ‘Tranny’… Will You Join Me?
Huffington Post, October 19, 2011
13) Lady Gaga To Receive Trevor Hero Award For LGBT Community Work
Huffington Post, November 20, 2011
14) Do You Want To See The “It’s Time” Marriage Ad On TV?
Australia, Advocate, November 27, 2011
Remembering Harvey Milk
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Harvey Milk, assassinated in 1978 by Dan White. Bent Alaska presents his story with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Harvey Milk
“The important thing is not that we can live on hope alone, but that life is not worth living without it.”
Harvey Milk (born May 22, 1930, died November 27, 1978) became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the U.S. when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He served eleven months before he was assassinated. Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
When Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, a 68-year-old lesbian wrote, “I thank God I have lived long enough to see my kind emerge from the shadows and join the human race.”
Milk was shot to death in his City Hall office on Nov. 27, 1978, by Dan White, a conservative anti-gay former supervisor who also murdered Mayor George Moscone. White was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years imprisonment. City-wide violence erupted in San Francisco when White’s sentence was announced.
Harvey Milk had forebodings of his assassination. He left a tape-recorded “political will” naming his preferred successor on the Board of Supervisors. On that tape he said: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”
Milk became well-known in his lifetime for variations of what was called his “Hope Speech.” Here is as it was heard in the award-winning documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk”
For more about Harvey Milk, visit his LGBT History Month page or Wikipedia article.
ICOAA recognized with 2012 Jose Honors’ Court of Distinction
Please join Bent Alaska in congratulating the Imperial Court of All Alaska (ICOAA), which has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Jose Honors “Court of Distinction” among the existing International Court Chapters.
The Imperial Court of All Alaska is the oldest and largest not-for-profit GLBTA organization in the state of Alaska. Over the decades, ICOAA has raised over a million dollars for scholarships for Alaska students and for other charitable organizations in the state through fundraising events, benefits, titleholder Balls, and functions. Thank you, ICOAA, for all you do!
The Imperial Court System’s Jose Honors was founded in 1997 by the International Court Systems’ current leader, Empress Nicole the Great, as a tribute to the founder of the ICS, Empress Jose, to ensure that her legacy lives on for a very long time. This is the highest award given to members of the International Courts System for outstanding accomplishments within the Courts System and in the larger community they live in. Each year, the Jose Honors also recognizes an individual member Court for outstanding service.
This year, The Imperial Court of All Alaska, Alaska’s oldest LGBT organization and a major fundraiser and community service organization for the past 40 years, has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Jose Honors “Court of Distinction” among the existing International Court Chapters.
The ICOAA was chosen this year based on our many criteria, but one of our major attributes is our success while being isolated from other Imperial Courts. While we have been in existence over the past 40 years, we also have strong partnerships with other Court Chapters, even given the fact that our closest chapter is over 1400 miles away. This isolation allows us to be an even stronger partner to other in-state organizations, including our strong alignment with the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s); Identity, Inc.; the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Alaska (GLCCA); our university LGBT organizations and youth programs; The Roscoe Fund, an animal partnership program for people in our community; and fundraising opportunities supporting smaller, local organizations throughout our very large state. As Alaska’s oldest GLBTA Organization, the ICOAA helped to fund almost every other GLBTA organization as they were spin-offs of the Court when court members saw an immediate need and started new organizations.
The ICOAA is especially honored to have been acknowledged this year as a stand-out organization, and our members over the past 40 years are truly proud to have these successes acknowledged on this grand scale. While we are receiving the award this year, the contributions of many people in our Alaskan communities are an important reason that we are being recognized.
The ICOAA is a proud member of the International Court body, and is pleased to have been selected as the Court of Distinction for the 2012 Jose Honors. The official award ceremony and presentation will be held on February 24, 2012 at a special dinner in San Francisco, CA. A special thanks to everyone who has touched our organization over the past 40 years!
Paige’s Birthday Wish: A Saturday evening of entertainment benefiting Operation Morale Boost
After spending Thanksgiving with loved ones, help celebrate Paige’s 31st birthday this Saturday, November 26, by helping Operation Morale Boost send off packages to servicemembers unable to be with their families this holiday season.
Open Projector Night 4, this Saturday night at Out North
The time has come for Open Projector Night, the Alaska independent filmmakers’ open mic, presented by the Alaska Film Forum and Out North Contemporary Art House, on Saturday, November 26 at Out North.
Bring a short film or clip of something longer on DVD, BluRay, or digital format ( h.264/m4v, 720p). Projector slots will be given out on a first-come first-serve basis.
For filmmakers, this is a great opportunity to meet other people working in town and have your films screened for an audience. For everyone else, this is your chance to see the awesome work that the local filmmaking scene is putting out, and to show your support for independent filmmakers and filmmaking.
Schedule for the evening:
5pm – Media drop off begins at Out North
8pm – Doors open for socializing/networking time
9pm – Screening begins
- Date/time: Saturday, November 26, 8:00 to 11:30 PM
- Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 Debarr, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Age restriction: This event is 21+. IDs will be checked at the door.
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Want to know more about Open Projector Night? Read Ben Anderson’s July 2011 story in the Alaska Dispatch. Or, check out the video:
Open Projector Night 4 from Tri-Seven Pictures on Vimeo.
Alaska Film Forum and Borderline Productions helped to put this piece together to talk more about the creation of OPN and its role in the Alaska Film Community.
Thanksgiving potluck at the LGBTQ-welcoming Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
You are invited to join the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) at 2 p.m. for a community potluck Thanksgiving dinner.
We will gather around 1:00 to 1:30 PM for wine and cheese, and plan to start eating at 2 PM. Everyone is welcome, and if your plans change, come and join us (even if it’s the last minute). We can usually expect between 30 and 45 people. People can come early and help set up chairs and tables, etc. Come and be with your church family if your own isn’t an option. Let us celebrate together this wonderful, very American holiday with good food and fellowship.
Like the Unitarian Universalist Association as a whole, the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is LGBT-welcoming, inclusive, and affirming. They are also non-doctrinaire, holding the inherent worth and dignity of every person as one of their seven core principles. EVERYONE is welcome.
- Date/time: Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day). Gather at 1:00 to 1:30 PM; Thanksgiving potluck at 2:00 PM.
- Location: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain Street, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free! But please bring a dish.
- Further info: Contact Shirley Dickens at 563-4499 if you need ideas about what to bring.
If you know of other LGBTQ-welcoming Thanksgiving celebrations anywhere in Alaska, please let Bent Alaska know by writing to bentalaska at gmail dot com or Facebooking us at https://www.facebook.com/bent.alaska.
Sara’s News Roundup 11/21/11: The Advocate’s list of 2011’s top 21 LGBTQ stories
The top 21 stories of 2011, 100 people of the year, bishops bearing false witness, and Nepal’s first lesbian film. That and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) 21 Top News Stories of the Year
Advocate, November 2011
2) Brazil Grants Residency Based on Same-Sex Marriage
Rio De Janeiro, Associated Press, November 14, 2011
3) Catholic Charities Groups End Ill. Suit
Illinois, Advocate, November 14, 2011
4) New effort in state to legalize gay marriage
Seattle, Herald, November 13, 2011
5) New Options For Gay Retirees
Smart Money, November 14, 2011
6) North Carolina LGBT Activists Gearing up for Ballot Battle
Greensboro, N.C., Advocate, November 14, 2011
7) Bishops Behaving Badly
Pasadena, Calif., Huffington Post, November 14, 2011
8) Girl Takes Life After Gender-Based Taunting
Ridge Farm, Illinois, Advocate, November 15, 2011
9) Nepal’s First Lesbian / Gay Film Ever ‘Snow Flower’ Dubbed ‘Brokeback Everest’
Nepal, SheWired, November 16, 2011
10) Marriage: What’s It Worth?
Advocate, December-January 2011
11) Op-ed: The Beckhams, the Movie Tomboy, and Me
Advocate, November 16, 2011
12) People of the Year: The Out 100 Picks
Advocate, November 17, 2011
13) What It’s Like for Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys
Advocate, November 18, 2011
14) Colorado researchers seek LGBTQ participants for survey on health care providers
Posted November 16, 2011 by Bent Alaska
15) About World AIDS Day, December 1st
World AIDS Day, November 2011
16) Women driving means prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce: Saudi
Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe Metro, November 18, 2011
Ask Lambda Legal: Options after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Lambda Legal answers the question: Now that DADT has been repealed, can former servicemembers who were discharged under that policy re-enlist?
Colorado researchers seek LGBTQ participants for survey on health care providers
Researchers at Colorado State University investigating LGBTQ persons’ perceptions of their primary care providers. They’re reaching out to the broadest, most diverse group of LGBTQ study participants possible, which includes reaching out to community groups in understudied parts of the United States — like Alaska!
Please consider helping them out — full info below.
Participant Recruitment Notice:
Perceptions of GLBT Health Care
We are conducting an on-line study at Colorado State University to assess gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons’ perceptions of their primary care medical providers. The only requirements for participation in this study are that you are at least 18 years of age or older, self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, and currently have a primary care physician.
Participation in this research requires only that you complete a brief survey that asks questions about you and your perceptions of your primary care physician. We do not ask questions that require you to provide any personally identifying information, or to provide any information about the identity of your primary care physician. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential, and all data will be encrypted using the same standards that businesses use for handling credit card information.
If you are interested in participating in this research, please click on the link below for more information.
https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=143991
Principal Researcher: Dr. Jennifer J. Harman
Co-Investigators: Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller and Michael Ioerger
This project has been approved by the Colorado State University Institutional Review Board (Protocol #11-2944H).
