Transgender woman Storm Paradise risks losing Facebook account over unverified name

A 23-year-old Halifax woman has two days to prove she is who she says she is.

On April 13, Storm Paradise received a notification from Facebook's administratorsasking for some form of documentation to prove the name on her profile matches the one she uses in real life.

Though Paradise has publicly gone by Stormsince she was 16 years old, the transgender woman doesn't have any identification to show it: all her IDs match the male name on her birth certificate.

"It's like being asked to prove that you exist," said Paradise.

Paradisedoesn't think she will be able to provide identification in time to authenticate her profile. What's more, she doesn't think she should have to.

"I'm angry. I feelit'saform ofdiscriminationagainsttransgenderpeople," she said.

Changing policy

When contacted by CBC, a spokesperson forFacebookreferred to aJune 2015 blog post by JustinOsofsky, the company'svice-president of global operations, andMonikaBickert, head of global product policy, thatannounced a series of changes to the social media organization's name policy.

It said Facebook would no longer ask users to provide their legal names. Instead, itnow asks people to use their "authentic names"the onesthey go by every day. Facebook also included an expanded list of identification options, including library cards and pieces of mail.

By usingreal names, according totheblog post,users are responsible for what they say.

The move was also meant to protect users from "dangerous interactions, like when an abusive ex-boyfriend impersonates a friend to harass his ex-girlfriend, or a high school bully uses a fake name to post hateful comments about a gay classmate."

Users whose preferred names are flagged have seven days to provide two pieces of identification and validate their accounts.

"The authentic name requirement has defined and distinguished our service from its earliest days," the post said."We firmly believe in and are committed to our authentic name policy."

But Paradise calls the move "cissexism" and saysshe worriesthatifher Facebook account is shut down,she wouldlose touch with friends, family and colleagues.

"Facebookis huge and powerful," she said. "It feels a little bit like David and Goliath."

'A global issue'

A Brooklyn,New York-based drag queen and organizer who goes by the name Lil Miss Hot Messplayed a consultative role in Facebook's 2015 policy changes.

She and a group of fellow drag queens won their own battles to keep their Facebook accounts active a year earlier.

Now the organizer of a campaign called MyNameIs,Lil MissHot Messadvocates for thousands of transgender individuals, victims of sexual violence and bullying, and members of religious and cultural minorities forced to prove the legitimacy of their own names.

"It's a global issue," she told CBC News.

Lil Miss Hot Mess calls the expanded list of ID options "disingenuous." Many people, she says, still use their legal names for mail and bus passes, even if it don't use those namessocially.

She says tools like Facebook can be invaluable to connect marginalized people and groups:

"Facebook is such an important platform for connecting with people who are like you and finding resources, especially for communities who are otherwise vulnerable or face violence."

One 'hoop' too many

Paradise, already an advocate for transgender issues, says she will consult members of the local LGBTQ community to discuss further action. But she doesn't know if theissue will fall high on priority lists.

"Being transgender means fear of arbitrary, hateful violence based on your gender," she said. "Things like everyday violence, being scared to walk around at night dressed the way I like. But it also includes a lot of petty everyday humiliation, and having to jump through stupid hoops like this."

Paradise says, however, that eliminating some of those "hoops"could go a long way.

"I think one of the best ways to directly combat social isolation and prejudice against trans people, is simply to treat us with respect: to call us by the names we chose, to use the correct pronouns," she said.

"And none of that should be too difficult, either for an individual or an institution."