Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
FACEBOOK HAS APOLOGISED to drag queens and members of the transgender community for a recent crackdown which forced them to either use their real names or set up a separate page on the social network.
In a statement last night, Facebook’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox spoke about the “hardship” caused to some users:
I want to apologise to the affected community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender, and extensive community of our friends, neighbours, and members of the LGBT community for the hardship that we’ve put you through in dealing with your Facebook accounts over the past few weeks.
Last month, an unnamed individual reported as fake “several hundred” Facebook accounts belonging to drag performers and LGBT people.
These reports were among the several hundred thousand fake name reports we process every single week, 99 percent of which are bad actors doing bad things: impersonation, bullying, trolling, domestic violence, scams, hate speech, and more — so we didn’t notice the pattern.
Over the last few weeks, the company began contacting the affected individuals, giving them a two-week ultimatum to use their real names, which caused widespread outrage.
Olivia LaGarce, a drag performer in Seattle, Washington, last month published a petition to allow performers to use their stage names on Facebook, which has garnered more than 36,000 signatures.
In her statement, she explained the problem with the policy:
Victims of abuse, trans people, queer people who are not able to be safely “out,” and performers alike need to be able to socialise, connect, and build communities on social media safely.
By forcing us to use our “real” names, it opens the door to harassment, abuse, and violence.
Facebook has a policy requiring members to use their real names, which it says is intended to discourage bullying, abuse and imposter accounts.
Cox clarified in his statement, however, that this policy doesn’t necessarily involve legal names, but rather “the authentic name [you] use in real life.”
While apologising to affected users, and promising to “fix the way this policy gets handled,” Cox defended the real-name rule, and explained the rationale behind it.
It’s the primary mechanism we have to protect millions of people every day, all around the world, from real harm.
The stories of mass impersonation, trolling, domestic abuse, and higher rates of bullying and intolerance are oftentimes the result of people hiding behind fake names, and it’s both terrifying and sad.
Our ability to successfully protect against them with this policy has borne out the reality that this policy, on balance, and when applied carefully, is a very powerful force for good.
The company’s apology has been welcomed by some prominent drag performers throughout the world.
Panti Bliss, aka Rory O’Neill, last night posted about the inconvenience of users being forced to switch to pages – which don’t allow the same interaction as a personal account.
Sister Roma, a drag queen in San Francisco (pictured above), had campaigned against the move in recent weeks, after being forced to use the name Michael Williams on her personal page.
Last night, however, she gave a cautious welcome to Facebook’s apology:
I sincerely believe that Facebook hears our concerns and I know that they have been working diligently to explore ways to modify their policies and procedures globally to create an authentic and safe environment for all users.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
OMG I got my hair done yesterday and it looks just like Heklina’s! wtf we clearly both have good taste.
The three in the top photo look like something out of a science fiction movie.
What a strange bunch.
Horror, you mean
Isn’t a drag queen’s name considered a professional title though? Seeing as it’s their performance name. I have nothing against them and think they should be able to use that name on Facebook and other social media, but I’m just curious about how they view it.
Surely if he/she has the courage of their convictions, why not use their real names, I always use my real name as a hetro sexual male and proud to be so.
Kevin I’m not sure if your ignorance is too obvious or if your sarcasm is too subtle.
And when you’re not being a heterosexual male, what name do you use?
Serious question. What is the meaning behind a man dressing up as an over exaggerated woman? What’s it about? I mean, I don’t ever hear/see a straight man dress up as a normal looking woman. Same with straight women dressing up as a normal looking man.
Why do some gay men dress up as a woman such an extreme way?
I’m not ignorant, just curious what it’s about.
Anyone shed some light on it? A reply by a gay person would be good. Could shed some light on this practice.
Instead of green or red thumbing, can anyone explain this to me. As I said, I’m serious. It’s a serious question.
Gay men don’t dress up as women, that’s transvestism. Most transvestites are straight men. Any transvestites out there got any comments?
And transvestites don’t really dress as exaggerated women, drag queens do. Drag queens are a form of entertainment, so it makes sense for it to be a bit OTT. I can’t imagine a drag cabaret populated by drag queens who look like my mother would be roaring success somehow.
Drag queens and being gay are entirely different things. Barry Humphries is not, while Danny La Rue was. It’s about performance and if you are dressing as something it makes sense to exaggerate those features. How this is not viewed as deeply sexist is beyond me, but there you have it.
“I don’t ever hear/see a straight man dress up as a normal looking woman.”
They’re obviously getting good at it so because straight crossdressers are very common.
Cool cheers. Thanks for the replies.
Seems like a well intentioned policy with unintended consequences that Facebook are endeavouring to resolve. Nothing to get worked up over.
Agreed
Facebook must stop conduct emotional experiments
http://www.sgoal.org/Facebook-must-stop-conduct-emotional-experiments-without-users-consent
have your say