Actor Elliott Page Announces He Is Transgender

[Vandal]

Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated star of “Juno” and Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” has announced he is transgender.

Elliot, formerly known as Ellen Page, addressed his social media followers saying:

“Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life. I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society,” he wrote.

“I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive. To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better,” Page continued.

Page uses both he/him and they/them pronouns, and describes himself as transgender and non-binary, meaning that his gender identity is neither man nor woman.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/elli ... 234843023/

[Ritterskoop]

Lesson I just learned: Don't write a long response to something, and then hit Notifications before you Post it.

The short version: I saw a Tweet about Page that said something along the lines of "You don't get to question this. You just have to accept it."

I wanted to say:

You don't have to do either of things. You don't have to engage with this story in anyway, unless you watch The Umbrella Academy, which based on sheer numbers, it is unlikely you do.

I am uncomfortable with teenagers making huge decisions about their plumbing, but I don't care at all about how anyone dresses or cuts their hair. I have one co-worker who changed names and presentation at around age 25. No self-respecting doctor will participate in anything drastic for a teen, but I've been told there are ways to pause puberty, so that you only experience it once, after you've decided which version to experience. How sensible is this - puberty sucks anyway, why don't we just pause it for everyone!

Cross-dressing and alternate presentation is fine with me at all ages. Too much of what we wear is about what other people think of us, rather than what is comfortable.

I get why some females in our culture want to be male, maybe to have the same opportunities that males have. I get why some males wish they were female, maybe to fulfill an aspect of themselves they are discouraged from expressing. I get that both issues are far more complicated than this. But mostly, it is so little of anyone's business (it is different if it is your kid) that I just am ready for the next thing, whatever that will be.

[silverscreenselect]

But mostly, it is so little of anyone's business (it is different if it is your kid) that I just am ready for the next thing, whatever that will be.

The only thing that I have trouble with is those people who use "they" to refer to themselves in the singular. I'm a bit of a grammar stickler in formal writing, so the use of "they" in the context of a single person is awkward. I understand the rationale this person has, since neither he, she, or it seems to be accurate. As in Elliott's case, the formal announcement always seems to be accompanied by a statement of how the person wishes to be referred to.

I once reviewed a suspense novel in which the author told part of the story from the point of view of a mysterious stalker. The twist ending was that the stalker was female when most readers would assume it was a male stalker. However, the author kept referring to the stalker as "they," which to me raised an alarm signal right away. And I soon figured out the stalker's identity (the only significant female character in the book) on that basis alone.

[Ritterskoop]

Also a grammarian, I resisted "they" for a long time, but we have yet to create a decent gender-neutral pronoun, so that's what we're stuck with.

[ghostjmf]

NY Times did an article a couple years ago on how we don't get all upset that "you" isn't gendered, pointed out that we already use "they" for person or groups of unspecified gender, & they're (see what I just did) going to allow it in their (again!) paper.