As ifStar Warswasn’t alreadya magnet for fan drama, the latest big story among lovers of the franchise involved one of the more hot-button (and genuinely important) issues of modern times. TheStar Warsfan-run wiki page, Wookiepedia, ignited a rather heated discussion involving the rights of any transgender people mentioned in its virtual pages, and passions flared.
Trans and non-binary artist Robin Pronovost, who did work for variousofficialStar Warsprojects, recently appealed to the admins of the site to have their name changed on their wiki page from their given name to their real name. Assuming their request would be a simple matter given how easy it is to edit any given wiki page, Pronovost was taken aback by the surprisingly vicious refusal, and the whole issue sparked a debate among admins and users alike. This resulted in a vote among Wookiepedia’s editors on whether to change the site’s policy to avoid the practice of deadnaming, and it wasn’t as cut and dry as one might think.
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For those unaware, deadnaming refers to the act of calling a trans person by their given name (or “deadname”) rather than their chosen one, and it’s considered incredibly insensitive. For example, calling actorElliot Page (who recently came out as trans)by his past name rather than his chosen name is considered deadnaming, which is why most sites like IMDb have done him the courtesy of updating their mentions of him. Up until this incident, Wookiepedia’s policy was to refer to every real-world person who worked on aStar Warsproject by the name with which they were officially credited at the time. It’s not difficult to see how this would cause some issues when it comes to trans creators.
So the vote took place, and while most of the editors appeared to be in favor of changing the policy to prevent deadnaming, it wasn’t the 2/3 majority needed to make it official. Luckily, the issue was finally resolved when Fandom, the host of Wookiepedia as well as numerous other fan wikis for other franchises, stepped in and made a sweeping declaration that “while it may not have been the intention, knowingly using a deadname in an article title is a violation of our Terms of Use.” They added a simple explanation, saying, “when wiki content is talking about real human beings with real needs, they must be respected.” Following this statement, the rule immediately went into effect across all wikis operating under Fandom. Presumably, that would also include any sites regardingthe trans-allegoricalMatrixseries.
It’s difficult to justify deadnaming on any level. Sure, some people may use the argument that it’s hard to remember or that they still see the person as their old identity. But there are no excuses for refusing to take the minimal amount of effort to call someone by the name they’ve chosen. There are, of course, less charitable reasons people have had for deadnaming, but as far as logical explanations go, nothing is as important as affirming the identity of trans people.
Hopefully, this change is a sign of things to come and more groups begin todeclare their support for more open-minded policies. After all, it takes far less effort to be kind than to be spiteful.
