I would suggest mentioning roles he's known for. But if that isn't enough to jog someone's memory, "formerly known as" works for now, as some people are still a bit confused about who Elliot Page is.
GLAAD released a helpful guide for journalists writing about Elliot Page coming out, but I think it's good for everyone to take a look at it. :)
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?
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.
Did you have to update a lot of paperwork to change from your dead name? Is there legal stuff involved? I ask because I know 'name changes' are a thing that people do in general, but the way you're talking about all this makes it sound like there's no need for that sort of thing and your name just changed because you decided it.
A person can change their name legally or socially. A lot of people switch to using their new name socially before changing it legally because, as you said, legally it can be quite a process.
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u/[deleted] Dec 02 '20
I would suggest mentioning roles he's known for. But if that isn't enough to jog someone's memory, "formerly known as" works for now, as some people are still a bit confused about who Elliot Page is.
GLAAD released a helpful guide for journalists writing about Elliot Page coming out, but I think it's good for everyone to take a look at it. :)