The Juno star Elliot Page took to his Instagram on December 2020 to announce that he is transgender and would like to be associated with pronouns like he/they. 

Following his announcement, the media has been publishing articles with Page’s deadname mentioned, which has led people’s attention to what “deadname” is and why it is important to not use it.

Page’s Announcement

On December 1, 2020, the Umbrella Acadamy actor revealed his gender identity via an Instagram Post.

In his post, Page shared that his name was Elliot, and he was trans. The actor also addressed how lucky he felt to have arrived at a phase in life where he could commit to his true self.

The talented actor expressed his gratitude towards all the people who had supported him along the journey and the people from the trans community who had inspired him. 

Adding on, the actor mentioned that he would do everything in his power to continue striving for a more loving and equal society for everyone. 

Further along, Page addressed the problem of discrimination faced by the trans community. He mentioned that in 2020 alone, at least 40 transgender people were murdered, the majority of which were black and Latinx trans women.

The Juno actor also made it a point to mention the shortcomings of the political leaders who criminalize trans health care and deny them the rights to exist. Addressing these leaders and the massive group of people who continually shower hostility to the trans community, the actor said that they were responsible for the deaths and the 40% suicide attempt rate of trans adults.

In the endnote, the actor reached out to his fellow trans people letting them know that he sees them and loves them and will do everything to change the world for the better. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @elliotpage

Deadnaming Page

Because Page is a high-profile trans, his gender identity reveal caused many media outlets to cover his story with the inclusion of his deadname, following phrases like “Formerly known as [dead name].” 

Although this act essentially doubled their potential traffic (both for his real and dead name), the LGBTQ+ media advocacy group backlashed at the media houses, reminding them to avoid using someone's deadname while covering stories of trans people.

In Simple terms

According to Healthline, many people from the transgender community undergo a change of name as an affirmation step of their transition.

This change helps the people who are transitioning and the people around them to view the person as the gender they want to be associated with. 

Deadnaming is the process of intentionally or unintentionally using the person’s former name to address them. This makes the person feel invalid and can make them feel like their identity is not respected and that people do not support their transition.