Having faced criticism from prominent trans actors in the past, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has this week introduced a new policy meaning that an actor's birth name may no longer be a listing requirement.
Known for being the internet’s largest resource of film and TV information, the Amazon-owned website has faced a growing campaign from LGBTIQ+ organisations to stop publishing the "deadnames" of trans actors without consent.
According to Variety, a spokesperson for the site announced the change Monday, saying: “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.”
They added: “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.”
Actress Laverne Cox, has previously been deadnamed by IMDb, calling it “the ultimate insult,” with Nick Adams, director of trans representation at GLAAD, calling it "an invasion of privacy that only serves to undermine the trans person’s true authentic identity".
These community complaints culminated earlier this year, with two anonymous trans actors slamming IMDb in an interview with IndieWire.
While IMDb's changes are being welcomed by some, the company still has a long way to go.
In a statement, GLAAD said the new policy represented "a step in the right direction" but emphasised that IMDb "still has a long way to go in maintaining the privacy of all the entertainment industry professionals listed on the site."
