LGBT and Wikipedia

There are various intersections of the LGBT community[lower-alpha 1] and Wikipedia. LGBT people who edit the online encyclopedia may face harassment, and Wikipedia content about LGBT individuals is often vandalized, but various Wikipedia user groups, WikiProjects, and the Wikimedia Foundation have endorsed campaigns to promote inclusion on Wikipedia, and its availability in nations that otherwise suppress information about LGBT issues has been praised.

Participants at a Wiki Loves Pride event to improve LGBT-related content on Wikipedia, in Serbia (2019)

LGBT coverage

In 2019, Rachel Wexelbaum, an associate professor at St. Cloud State University, wrote, "For LGBTIQ+ people and those searching for LGBTIQ+ information, Wikipedia has proven invaluable in countries where LGBTIQ+ publications, media, or visibility may be criminalized or cut short due to AIDS NGOs leaving those countries."[1] It can also be valuable for those in communities where this information is socially marginalized;[2]: 91  a notable example is the experience of transgender author and activist Abby Stein in finding her transgender identity.[3] Wikipedia is often consulted by LGBT youth seeking information on sexual health, as Wikipedia's coverage of health-related topics is backed by numerous medical journals.[2]: 91 

In some cases, particular language editions of Wikipedia have slanted toward anti-LGBT content. The Croatian Wikipedia has been criticized for advancing anti-LGBT propaganda and for other reasons. In addition, only active administrator of Amharic Wikipedia, at one point, enforced the Ethiopian government's anti-LGBT laws on the wiki.[4] According to Business Insider, an anonymous editor using an IP address coming from the U.S. House of Representatives, who claimed to be a Capitol Hill staffer, made a series of edits about the transgender community, including some that were critical of transgender individuals.[5]

Names and pronouns

The English Wikipedia's style guidelines on identity state editors should describe transgender and non-binary subjects using their preferred name and pronouns corresponding to their most recently stated gender identity. However, such articles are frequently targeted with vandalism, misgendering or deadnaming their subjects.[6] In August 2008, the article about Ina Fried, a transgender journalist for CNET, was caught in an edit war over which pronouns to use for her. She stated that Wikipedia did not have a stylebook on gender, unlike the Associated Press Stylebook, and said that while she found it "somewhat confusing" to see the gender changes on her page, she "found the debate interesting." She later added that it was a "reasonable compromise" to remove all pronouns in her biography entry.[7]

Photograph of a woman in black clothes wearing a necklace
Photograph of a woman in black clothes
Editors debated the titles and pronouns used in Wikipedia's entries for Chelsea Manning (left) and Caitlyn Jenner (right) after both transitioned genders.

After Chelsea Manning came out in August 2013, editors debated the title of the article about her. At the time, Slate praised actions by Wikipedia editors, saying that Manning's article was rewritten quickly and with "remarkably little controversy".[8] However, in October 2013, The Guardian noted that the English Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee had "banned a number of editors from working on articles related to transgender topics or individuals," noting what while some were banned for "making transphobic comments about Manning", others received the same punishment "for pointing out the bigotry". Two of the restricted editors had insisted on referring to Manning as a man, while another editor who alleged the existence of "a 'consensus' of virulently transphobic" Wikipedia editors was sanctioned for a "battleground approach" by the committee.[9]

Following Caitlyn Jenner's gender transition in 2015, Kat George of Bustle wrote, "We can start learning about the proper use of gender pronouns, with Caitlyn Jenner's Wikipedia article as a perfect example of the correct before and after language we should be employing."[10] The name and pronouns to use for Gloria Hemingway were a matter of discussion for over 15 years. In February 2022, after a week of debate, votes were evenly split between using Gloria and "she/her" pronouns, or continuing to use her birth name. An editor closed the discussion in favor of renaming; the decision was appealed but upheld by an administrator.[11]

Harassment

Wikipedia editors experience harassment, and in one case, a transgender editor was publicly deadnamed. The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) has said it is seriously concerned about the idea that transgender editors could be repelled from Wikipedia due to online abuse.[6] BBC News said in 2020, "Many, particularly women and members of the LGBTQ community, have complained of abuse and harassment from other editors."[12] Editors can report harassment to administrators via email or notice boards, which can cause harassers to be barred from editing.[6]

Editors in countries where it is more dangerous to be openly LGBT experience more virulent harassment. In one instance, an editor was blocked by an administrator since their username suggested they may be gay. The administrator was eventually blocked for those actions when Wikimedia's Trust and Safety Team got involved. Amir Sarabadani, an editor, stated that in 12 years of editing Persian Wikipedia, users were often hostile to articles related to homosexuality. Other editors often accused him of having a "homosexual agenda" and anonymous users posted lewd images to his user page. He said that his work as an administrator there helped make abuse less tolerable and that homophobic content that was previously acceptable now resulted in blocks.[6]

In October 2022, a group of 40 French public figures, including director Céline Sciamma, writer Virginie Despentes, writer and graphic novel illustrator Jul Maroh, writer and philosopher Paul B. Preciado, and journalist and filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo, in conjunction with the National Transgender Association of France, signed an open letter, published in L'Obs magazine, to Wikipedia, denouncing "stigmatizing behaviors" against transgender, non-binary, and intersex people on Wikipedia including misgendering, deadnaming, the use of pre-transition pictures, and harassment of openly trans editors.[13][14]

Wikimedia movement
Photograph of a group of people, some of whom are carrying a banner with the text "LGBT+" and "Wikimedia"
Wikimedia LGBT+ representation at the EuroPride parade in Stockholm, 2018

The Wikimedia movement has seen campaigns and hosted edit-a-thons[15] to improve coverage of LGBT topics.[16][17][2]: 91–92  Wikimedia LGBT is a user group affiliate of WMF.[2]: 92  Wiki Loves Pride is a campaign from June to October to create and improve LGBT-related content across Wikimedia projects.[18] Wiki Loves Pride has promoted coverage of notable LGBT people.[19] Art+Feminism has been described as "a campaign to improve the site's representation of women and nonbinary individuals".[6] Furthermore, WikiProject LGBT studies,[lower-alpha 2] which works to create and enhance articles on LGBT topics, is present on 28 Wikipedias, as of 2023.[2]: 92 

In 2022, WMF joined human rights and LGBT organizations in opposing the Kids Online Safety Act. The groups argued that "over-moderation" would "cut off members of marginalized younger groups who rely on online services to learn about sex education or access LGBTQ+ resources".[20][21] In 2023, organizers of Wikimania requested a unisex public toilet for the duration of the conference at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. One was temporarily converted from an existing restroom usually designated for women, prompting "some hostile reactions" online, according to Today.[22][23]

Jess Wade has worked to improve coverage of LGBT topics on Wikipedia. Every day in 2018, Wade wrote at least one Wikipedia article about a woman, person of color, or LGBT figure in science to expand the diversity of Wikipedia's coverage.[24]

References

Notes
  1. There are multiple acronyms for the community (see LGBT § Variants for more details). Wikipedia's policy states that articles should use "LGBT", though quotes may use other acronyms.
  2. WikiProjects are spaces where editors can list articles for creation, work to enhance the quality of existing articles, and review the status of articles under their jurisdiction.[2]: 92 

Citations
  1. Wexelbaum, Rachel (June 20, 2019). "Edit Loud, Edit Proud: LGBTIQ+ Wikimedians and Global Information Activism". Wikipedia @ 20. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-53817-6. OCLC 1187209148. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. Miquel-Ribé, Marc; Kaltenbrunner, Andreas; Keefer, Jeffrey M. (December 21, 2021). "Bridging LGBT+ Content Gaps Across Wikipedia Language Editions". The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion. 5 (4): 90–131. doi:10.33137/ijidi.v5i4.37270. hdl:10230/52360. ISSN 2574-3430. JSTOR 48641981. S2CID 245573982. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  3. "From ultra-Orthodox rabbi to openly transgender: Abby Stein shares her story". NBC News. November 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  4. Song, Victoria (August 26, 2020). "A Teen Threw Scots Wiki Into Chaos and It Highlights a Massive Problem With Wikipedia". Gizmodo. G/O Media. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  5. Campbell, Colin. "Someone On Capitol Hill Seems Obsessed With Editing Wikipedia Articles On Transgender Topics". Business Insider. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. Jacobs, Julia (April 8, 2019). "Wikipedia Isn't Officially a Social Network. But the Harassment Can Get Ugly". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  7. Fried, Ina (August 22, 2008). "Wikipedia changes my gender more than I do". CNET. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  8. Stern, Mark Joseph (August 22, 2013). "Wikipedia Beats Major News Organizations, Perfectly Reflects Chelsea Manning's New Gender". Slate. The Slate Group. OCLC 728292344. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  9. Hern, Alex (October 24, 2013). "Chelsea Manning name row: Wikipedia editors banned from trans pages". The Guardian. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  10. George, Kat (June 1, 2015). "Bruce Jenner Wikipedia Page Now Uses The Name Caitlyn and Female Pronouns, and the Before and After Illustrates Language You Should Use". Bustle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  11. Cohen, Noam (January 22, 2023). "The Culture Wars Look Different on Wikipedia". The Atlantic. Emerson Collective. OCLC 936540106. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  12. "Wikipedia sets new rule to combat "toxic behaviour"". BBC News. May 23, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  13. Sierra, Laura Valentina Cortés; Constantino, Sophia; Hauger, Bertrand. "LGBTQ+ International: Chile's Non-Binary ID, Slovakia In Mourning, Mr Gay World — And The Week's Other Top News". Worldcrunch. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  14. "Nous dénonçons le traitement que réserve Wikipédia aux personnes trans, non binaires et intersexes" [We denounce Wikipedia's treatment of trans, non-binary and intersex people]. L'Obs. October 13, 2022. ISSN 0029-4713. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  15. McMillen, Andrew. "One Woman's Brilliant "Fuck You" to Wikipedia Trolls". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  16. Milliken, Alice (July 7, 2014). "Wikipedia holds Pride 'edit-a-thons' to improve LGBT-related content". PinkNews. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  17. Mehra, Bharat (May 1, 2019). LGBTQ+ Librarianship in the 21st Century: Emerging Directions of Advocacy and Community Engagement in Diverse Information Environments. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78756-475-6. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  18. Phadnis, Renuka (July 6, 2014). "Wikipedia edit-a-thons to add content on LGBTs". The Hindu. The Hindu Group. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  19. Lapowsky, Issie (March 2015). "Meet the Editors Fighting Racism and Sexism on Wikipedia". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  20. Gold, Ashley (November 28, 2022). "Human rights, LGBTQ+ organizations oppose Kids Online Safety Act". Axios. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  21. Feiner, Lauren (November 28, 2022). "Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  22. "Temporary designation of Suntec toilets as 'gender-neutral' sparks hostile online reaction; others see move as positive". TODAY. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  23. "'So do I sit or stand?' Netizens divided by gender-neutral toilet at Suntec City". AsiaOne. August 18, 2023. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  24. Zane, Zachary (January 2, 2019). "This Scientist Is Updating Wikipedia with Women, POC, & LGBTQ+ History". Pride.com. Here Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
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