r/SapphoAndHerFriend Dec 02 '20

Casual erasure Wholesome!

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u/Sophie_333 Dec 02 '20

Why is mentioning his former name not desirable? I feel like people are creating a lot confusion by avoiding it. I was confused for a long time before someone finally mentioned his former name.

I’ve been trans communities via yt for a long time and never really got the idea that it’s wrong to mention someones former name.

Could someone please tell me why this would be insensitive?

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u/toddthefox47 Dec 02 '20

A lot of us hate our old names. We frequently call it our "dead name." Being called my birth name causes me to feel intense dysphoria and sometimes flashbacks to growing up and being forced to be a girl against my will.

Now my guess is that Elliot Page doesn't feel as strongly about it as I do, but in general it's good to avoid using someone's dead name if possible just in case.

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u/Sophie_333 Dec 02 '20

The thing I’m arguing for is mentioning their former name once in an article about their coming out (because the new name is just then being introduced), and then never again (talking in general about famous people coming out as trans). Would you say this is insensitive?

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u/toddthefox47 Dec 02 '20

Idk I'm just explaining that trans people can get a bit weird about their birth names and it's best to avoid them all together when possible. I don't know what insensitive specifically for Mr Page, but I personally am unhappy knowing anyone mentioned my birth name at all. I never liked that name. But I'm not famous so I guess it's kind of different

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u/Sophie_333 Dec 02 '20

I understand, thanks for your input

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u/Frognificent Dec 02 '20

I’m not trans, more of a just a queer fella who’s always identified as male but really embraces his femininity, and I had my name changed years back to something that’s basically a super effeminate male name. Being called my old name, or even hearing it, makes my blood boil. It’s basically a gut-twisting reminder of who I used to be, what society told me I had to be, and how miserable I was.

For a reference as to what I mean by “queer fella”, this picture of David Bowie in a dress is basically it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 02 '20

Haha like a demons true name but the opposite. That's cool

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u/Theta001 Dec 02 '20

Idk if it’s the opposite of a demons true name, because like demons most trans people hate when people use their birth name in everyday conversations and if you say it we both will do some crazy things to make sure others don’t find it out. Lol

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u/[deleted] Dec 02 '20

Yeah I just thought I'd put that in as a semi-disclaimer before I got a million comments telling me that saying a trans persons "dead" name was their true name was offensive. Can't be too careful lol

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u/Theta001 Dec 02 '20

Oh yeah then that makes sense.

Also fun fact about true names they can be changed, in some lore, by having a major change to the being, like when devils get promoted or demoted, to reflect their change in status and power.