Namesake

@namesake.fyi

199 Followers 44 Following

Name change guides for trans people in the U.S. https://namesake.fyi/ Donate to support our work: https://namesake.fyi/donate

Graphic that says "Thanks so much to our community for raising $1,640 during our Pride Month Fundraiser!" with a small image of a snail on a flower in the bottom-right corner.
A graphic depicting a hand with magnifying glass magnifying the state of Rhode Island on a map of the Eastern half of the United States with the text 'small but mighty!' and ' Namesake now supports Rhode Island!'
A graphic of a collaged rainbow and a snail on top of the greeting "Happy Pride Month." Underneath, the text "Help us raise $2,000 to support legal name changes across the US." with the Namesake logo at the bottom.
A road sign that says "SLOW DOWN PLAY AREA". In the middle there is a sticker that reads, "slow progress is powerful."
A zine-style graphic showing the Namesake logo, the "Enter your name" screen from Animal Crossing for Gamecube, the Namesake snail logo, and the text "What's the story behind your username?"
Webpage on the Namesake website with large text saying “What is the reason you’re changing your name?” There is a text box with the label “Reason for name change” and a banner that says: What do I write? Provide a basic reason —no need to go into detail. Examples: • "I want a name which aligns with my gender identity." • "This is the name everyone knows me by." • "This is my preferred name and I wish to obtain proper documentation." • "I am transgender."
When I asked other trans journalists about how they’d transition in this political moment, most of the advice boiled down to: Do whatever makes you feel safe and happy. You don’t need to tell every person you’ve ever quoted in an article. You can also not tell a soul. Different approaches work for different journalists, each with their own tradeoffs depending on your personality and how frequently you need to talk with sources.
Trans perspectives and stories have never been more important. And trans reporters need a safe perch from which to write these stories. Not every trans person changes their name. Some trans people simply like their birth name. Sometimes changing your byline is not possible, either because of the risk of abuse from newsroom colleagues or because an outlet has a policy that prohibits such changes or lacks a clear policy or procedure for how to do so. In some countries, being transgender is criminalized (even to the point of sometimes being punishable by death), which obviously complicates a journalist’s ability to live openly. But if a trans journalist can and wants to change their byline, it can be a welcome boost to their mental health and safety. “When you have access to updating your name and affirming your gender to your name, you feel better during the course of the day,” says Bellamy-Walker. “If you don’t feel safe, it’s going to be difficult to do your job.”