Let's talk about deadnaming trans people and why 'freedom of speech' isn't always the answer

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Representatives for two transgender actors, speaking anonymously, told IndieWire in April that they had failed to get birth names removed from IMDb despite what the website called “extensive lobbying from management, representatives at one of the top three Hollywood agencies, and GLAAD”. Nick Adams, director of transgender representation at GLAAD, told The New York Times that the organisation has been advocating for years for IMDb not to publicise transgender people’s birth names. A section on IMDb’s website warns users that “IMDb will not remove accurate information”, adding: “If you try to delete an item of data which is accurate, your delete will not be processed.” Right now, the birth names of several prominent transgender people are displayed on IMDb in a section titled “birth name”, as is the case for celebrities who are not trans. GLAAD’s media guidelines point out that “many people use names they have chosen for themselves, and the media does not mention their birth name when writing about them, ”, urging others to extend the same respect to transgender people.