Tag: Alaska
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Queerness and Gender Outside the Binary Above the Arctic Circle
Living north of the Arctic Circle, Desiree reflects on identity, sense of safety, and shedding imposed gender roles. From self-erasure to self-honesty, her story weaves queerness, nature, and resilience in rural Alaska – where survival, community, and becoming whole matter more than fitting into binaries.
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Why Alaska to Start an LGBTQ Project Celebrating Gender?
More than once, I’ve been told that Alaska is where you go to get away from the rest of the world’s noise—its politics, its hustle, its expectations. It’s a place where people carve out space to live on their own terms. That’s exactly what drew me back here for a second time, not just for…
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Utqiagvik, Alaska: Gender Journeys at the Top of the World
Utqiagvik truly feels like the edge of the world—because in many ways, it is. Perched at the northernmost point of North America, this Arctic town gave me more than sweeping views of the tundra and snowy owls overhead. It gave me a moment to reflect—on the rawness of the landscape, on how my partner and…
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Quietly Queer in the Arctic
North of Fairbanks lies vast wilderness, quiet queerness, and the rugged road to the Arctic—where industry and isolation shape Alaska.
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Inside Fairbanks, Alaska: Queer Histories, Off-Grid Living, and a Moose/Car Collision
Fairbanks is a city of contradictions—military and tourism-driven, yet brimming with underground art and Native culture; a hub of environmental research with some of the worst air quality in the country; home to burlesque fire dancers and centuries-old queer identities reclaimed by Alaska Native people. In this post, I reflect on the wild beauty, culture…
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Visiting Mount Denali: The Importance of a Name, Queer Travel and Indigenous History
No queer travelogue through Alaska would be complete without a visit to Mount Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. Though I didn’t connect with anyone for All the Genders on this stretch, I found comfort traveling here as a queer person and want to share both the awe of the mountain and the layered history behind…
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Queer Joy in the Wild: Rainbows over Resurrection Bay, Rainforest BBQs, and a Drag Lumberjack Queen
On a Pride-themed boat cruise through Seward’s Resurrection Bay, a man in shimmering mermaid pants glided gracefully down the cabin, trying to keep his drink steady as sea lions howled in the distance and dance music rose to meet the glacial air. The joy of queerness in all its forms—mermaids, drag lumberjacks, pride fairies, elders,…
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Gun Violence Normalized: My Queer Reflections on Gun Violence from Alaska to Virginia to Texas
After a Pride weekend in Soldotna, Alaska, a tense encounter with armed strangers outside a friend’s home triggers personal reflections on gun culture, safety, and violence across Alaska, Texas, and Virginia—revealing how gun trauma quietly shapes queer lives in America.
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The Fairies Guarding Soldotna Pride: LGBTQ+ Visibility, Protest, and Community
Pride in small-town Alaska is never just a celebration—it’s also a protest and a powerful act of visibility. In the small town of Soldotna, I joined hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and allies for a joyful 1.7-mile march through town. It was beautiful—and at times tense. A local business owner attempted to antagonize Pride attendees, hoping…
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Homer, Alaska: A Queer Haven at the End of the Road
Alaska often feels like the biggest small town in the world—and nowhere is that more true than in Homer, a breathtaking coastal village at the southern tip of Alaska’s central road system. On my very first visit, I met a warm-hearted queer ally who became my first friend in Alaska. From that moment, Homer’s incredible…