The concept of deadnaming has been gaining prominence recently, especially on social media, as governments worldwide pass legislation to curtail LGBTQ+ rights. According to Kristopher Wells, Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, deadnaming is often used in a very discriminatory way.
“It’s premised on this notion that gender identity is not real,” said Wells, a professor at MacEwan University in Edmonton. “It’s really an assault on their identity.” He explained that when people deadname it’s often to prove a scornful point and can be harmful for transgender and non-binary youth who are already vulnerable.
Deadnaming could soon become a bigger issue in Canada given changes in some provinces. In Saskatchewan, the government invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause last year to pass a law requiring parental consent for students under 16 to change their names or pronouns in school. New Brunswick also put in a policy requiring parental consent for those under 16.
In Alberta, the government has promised to make changes so students 15 and under need parental consent. Students 16 and 17 won’t need consent, but their parents would still have to be notified. These policies risk outing transgender and non-binary youth to their families, potentially placing them in harm’s way.
Wells said that sadly not all parents support their LGBTQ children. “A lot of people need to understand,” he said. “It can be very freeing to go by a different name.”