IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, is reversing its policy of listing the birth names of transgender individuals on their biographical pages after receiving criticism from the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD back in June.
The company will now allow for the removal of a person’s birth name if the name is not “broadly publicly known and the person no longer voluntarily uses their birth name,” according to an IMDb spokesperson. The person or their representative needs to contact IMDb customer support to request a birth name removal, and every occurrence of their name will be removed subject to a review process.
However, IMDb says that if an individual was previously credited on screen under a birth name, the credited name will remain listed in the credits section of the respective IMDb page in parentheses.
IMDb says the change comes in response to feedback received from transgender customers and other “entertainment industry thought-leaders.”
In June, GLAAD criticized IMDb for revealing trans actors’ birth names, which the group referred to as “deadnaming” and said amounted to an invasion of privacy. GLAAD further backed an actors’ guild legal challenge seeking to restrict what personal information the database could reveal.
Both GLAAD and SAG-AFTRA responded to the change in policy by saying that it’s an imperfect solution and that the database still has work to do in protecting the privacy of trans individuals.
“Revealing a transgender person’s birth name without permission is an invasion of privacy that can put them at risk for discrimination,” Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of transgender media said in a statement. “IMDb’s new policy is a step in the right direction and gives some transgender professionals in the entertainment industry the dignity and respect that they’ve long deserved – however, it remains imperfect.”
“Trans people with credits under their old name for work in front of or behind the camera will still be affected by IMDb’s determination to publish outdated information,” Adams continued. “The platform still has a long way to go in maintaining the privacy of all the entertainment industry professionals listed on the site. GLAAD and SAG-AFTRA, along with trans people working in Hollywood, will continue to advocate that IMDb create policies that respect everyone’s privacy and safety.”
SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris also provided a statement to TheWrap saying that the policy is a “half-measure” and that IMDb has admitted to invading the privacy of performers.
“While this half-measure is a step forward in protecting the personal safety of and reducing employment discrimination for transgender people, in revising its birth name policy, IMDb admits to invading the privacy of performers and putting them at risk for discrimination. IMDb can make no principled distinction to justify its arbitrary choices about when to invade the privacy of performers,” Carteris said.
Read the full statement from an IMDb spokesperson below:
In response to feedback we received from our transgender customers and other entertainment industry thought-leaders, IMDb has recently updated our birth name policy.
IMDb now permits the removal of birth names if the birth name is not broadly publicly known and the person no longer voluntarily uses their birth name. To remove a birth name either the person concerned or their professional industry representative simply needs to contact IMDb’s customer support staff to request a birth name removal.
Once the IMDb team determines that an individual’s birth name should be removed subject to this updated process, we will review and remove every occurrence of their birth name within their biographical page on IMDb.
For birth name removal requests pertaining to titles in which a person was credited on-screen as their birth name, their credited name will remain listed in the credits section of applicable IMDb name and title pages in parentheses. This is in order to continue providing IMDb’s hundreds of millions of customers worldwide with comprehensive information about film and TV credits, thereby preserving the factual historical record by accurately reflecting what is listed on-screen.
These 13 Movies Were Rated the Most Damaging to LGBT People in 2016 (Photos)
From perpetuating stereotypes to using violence against queer people as a plot device or straight-up refusing to clarify the orientation of meaningful LGBT characters in film, these portraits were considered the most damaging or ineffective from any major Hollywood film in 2016. [Source: GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index]
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"Deadpool" (Fox) This irreverent superhero was impossible to deny in any way -- except, of course, if you count how the film denied its own promise to feature a "pansexual" Deadpool. Director Tim Miller said he was intent to show the potty-mouthed hero as one not limited in his choice of sexual preference, but it never manifested on the screen.
There was also plenty of conversation about a scene where Reynolds' Wade Wilson is "pegged" (penetrated with a strap-on by his scene partner Morena Baccarin) but "the scene was played as a joke and as a painful moment that Wade himself was not actually wanting to engage in other than as a favor to his lover."
20th Century Fox
"Demolition" (Lionsgate) This Jake Gyllenhaal indie sees the actor befriend a young closeted gay man, whom he advises to remain in the closet until he can move to a bigger, more accepting city. The boy ignores this advice and attends a local gay bar, where he is jumped by a group of straight men. The gay character "never seemed to be actually uncomfortable with himself to begin with, [so] it is disheartening that the film decided to use this kind of violence as a plot device."
Lionsgate
"Zoolander 2" (Paramount) Where to begin with this sequel 15 years in the making, but one GLAAD called "incredibly dated in both story and its attempted humor."
That's a compliment compared to what comes next.
"Prior to the release of Zoolander 2, a petition was launched calling for a boycott of the film after the first trailer included Benedict Cumberbatch as a non-binary model named All. The character is a completely cartoonish portrayal of a non-binary person. [Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson] obsess over the idea of what kind of genitals All has, asking if they 'have a hot dog or a bun.'"
The study found that while "comedy can be a powerful too to hold a mirror up to society and challenge expectations, cheap jokes constructed without thought that use an already marginalized community as a punchline only reinforce ignorance and prejudice. Further, positioning an LGBTQ identity as something which is inherently absurd and worthy of mocking does real harm to actual people who experience harassment and violence on a regular basis."
Paramount
"Sausage Party" (Sony) This animated orgy from Seth Rogen might as well be disqualified given how offensive it was to all of god's creatures (and some our finest foods and beverages). GLAAD raised one point, however, about reinforcing stereotypes.
"Characters are a shallow pun based on their name, including Twink the Twinkie and the overly effeminate produce who are not actual characters so much a series of jokes based on the derogatory term 'fruit,'" they said.
Sony Pictures
"Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates" (Fox) In their quest to land plus ones, Zac Efron and Adam Devine interview many candidates -- including a man in a wig trying to pass as female.
"This very clearly furthers the dangerous cultural narrative that someone who does not look conventionally female is a joke to be laughed at, and that straight men might be 'tricked' by a woman who’s 'really a man,'" GLAAD said.
20th Century Fox
"Nocturnal Animals" (Focus) It's surprising that a film directed by a gay icon (the notoriously provocative designer Tom Ford) would get dinged by GLAAD -- but the film's two gay characters (one played by Michael Sheen, one only referenced in the history of characters played by Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal) did not pass muster.
"Though it is clear that this film takes place in a world inclusive of gay characters accepted by the protagonists, it is disappointing that their stories are centered on the straight women in their lives," the SRI said.
Focus Features
"Zootopia" (Disney) A same-sex couple lives next door to crime-fighting bunny rabbit Judy Hopps, but vagueness kills any clarity and, therefore, visibility.
"While confirmed inclusion is a step forward for children’s films, we would like to see these characters be more forthrightly defined within the film itself going forward."
Disney
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (Warner Bros.) The film got points for cameos from out journalists Anderson Cooper and Andrew Sullivan playing in fictionalized versions of themselves, but these do not gay characters make, the study said.
"We continually hope that future superhero films will include substantial queer characters. While more out comic book characters are making the leap from the page to television, mainstream hero films are still cutting them from the big screen."
Warner Bros
"Hail, Caesar!" (Paramount) In this Coen Brothers old-Hollywood dramedy, Channing Tatum plays an ambitious actor-dancer who sleeps with his director (Ralph Fiennes) to get ahead. It's also revealed that an established star (George Clooney) climbed the ladder the same way.
"The trope of predatory gay characters bribing or pressuring a straight man into sex is both offensive and incredibly overdone through the years," GLAAD said.
Paramount
"Dirty Grandpa" (Lionsgate) GLAAD had zero respect for this elder, calling the film "one of the more offensive lms released recently by a major studio." The crux of their issue came from an African American gay male character named Bradley, who "has no agency or story, and is only present as a punchline for Dick’s racist and anti-gay jokes."
Lionsgate
"Central Intelligence" (Warner Bros.) This film ties with "Dirty Grandpa" for top offender. The Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart (a top repeat offender in this annual survey) buddy comedy is described as "a near two-hour gay panic joke that relies on the long-running homophobic 'sissy' stereotype for most of the lm’s intended punchlines."
Warner Bros
"Suicide Squad" (Warner Bros.) GLAAD was bummed that this widely-panned film did not reference Harley Quinn's bisexuality -- explored in many of the comic books, especially a romantic relationship with fellow villainess Poison Ivy.
"If they follow the source comics, audiences can look forward to seeing some of the romantic relationship between Quinn and Ivy. This would be a huge moment for superhero films, which continue to leave out meaningful LGBTQ characters," the study said.
"While Harley Quinn is bisexual in the pages of many DC Comics and continually veers between her love for fellow anti-hero Poison Ivy and returning to her abusive relationship with The Joker."
Warner Bros
"Finding Dory" (Disney)
Much ado was made about two women being a same-sex couple in the animated film -- but their cameo was so fleeting and, as the study points out, director Andrew Stanton refused to confirm or deny this as true. GLAAD did not count the characters in its tally of 70 represented in mainstream films -- a big missed opportunity given the film's voice star Ellen DeGeneres is arguably the most visible lesbian in the world.
Disney
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GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index takes the major studios — and their harmful content — to task
From perpetuating stereotypes to using violence against queer people as a plot device or straight-up refusing to clarify the orientation of meaningful LGBT characters in film, these portraits were considered the most damaging or ineffective from any major Hollywood film in 2016. [Source: GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index]
Handout
20th Century Fox
