LGBTQ and Wikipedia#LGBTQ coverage

In 2011, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) made it a strategic goal to recruit more women, people of color, and other underrepresented individuals as editors, including LGBTQ people.{{Cite book |last1=Wexelbaum |first1=Rachel |title=Queers online: LGBTQIA+ digital practices in libraries, archives, and museums |chapter-url=https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=lrs_facpubs |last2=Herzog |first2=Katie |last3=Rasberry |first3=Lane |date=2015 |publisher=Litwin Books |isbn=978-1-936117-79-6 |editor-last=Wexelbaum |editor-first=Rachel |series=Gender and sexuality in information studies |location=Sacramento, CA |pages=61–70 |chapter=Queering Wikipedia}}

In 2019, Rachel Wexelbaum, an associate professor at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, United States, 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."{{Cite journal |last=Wexelbaum |first=Rachel |date=June 20, 2019 |title=Edit Loud, Edit Proud: LGBTIQ+ Wikimedians and Global Information Activism |url=https://wikipedia20.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/rdtfo5v8/release/3 |url-status=live |journal=Wikipedia @ 20 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115191642/https://wikipedia20.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/rdtfo5v8/release/3 |archive-date=November 15, 2022 |access-date=January 20, 2023}} It can also be valuable for those in communities where this information is socially marginalized;{{Rp|page=91}} a notable example is the experience of transgender author and activist Abby Stein, who discovered the idea of being transgender on the Hebrew Wikipedia.{{Cite web |last=Aviles |first=Gwen |date=November 19, 2019 |title=From ultra-Orthodox rabbi to openly transgender: Abby Stein shares her story |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ultra-orthodox-rabbi-openly-transgender-abby-stein-shares-her-story-n1085951 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219154000/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ultra-orthodox-rabbi-openly-transgender-abby-stein-shares-her-story-n1085951 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |access-date=January 27, 2023 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}} Wikipedia is often consulted by LGBTQ youth seeking information on sexual health, as Wikipedia's coverage of health-related topics is backed by numerous medical journals.{{Rp|page=91}} Some Wikipedia editors, however, have reported struggles with encouraging LGBTQ health organizations to participate in contributing LGBTQ-specific health information to Wikipedia.

In some cases, particular language editions of Wikipedia have slanted toward anti-LGBTQ content. The Croatian Wikipedia has been criticized for advancing homophobic propaganda and for other reasons. In addition, the only active administrator of Amharic Wikipedia, at one point, enforced the Ethiopian government's anti-LGBTQ laws on the wiki.{{Cite news |last=Song |first=Victoria |date=August 26, 2020 |title=A Teen Threw Scots Wiki Into Chaos and It Highlights a Massive Problem With Wikipedia |language=en |work=Gizmodo |url=https://gizmodo.com/a-teen-threw-scots-wiki-into-chaos-and-it-highlights-a-1844851959 |url-status=live |access-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124230905/https://gizmodo.com/a-teen-threw-scots-wiki-into-chaos-and-it-highlights-a-1844851959 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |publisher=G/O Media}} According to Business Insider, an anonymous editor using an IP address coming from the United States 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.{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Colin |title=Someone On Capitol Hill Seems Obsessed With Editing Wikipedia Articles On Transgender Topics |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/someone-on-capitol-hill-is-editing-wikipedia-articles-on-transgender-topics-2014-8 |access-date=October 15, 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}

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. 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.{{cite web |last=Fried |first=Ina |date=August 22, 2008 |title=Wikipedia changes my gender more than I do |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10023156-56.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105100419/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10023156-56.html |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=CNET |publisher=Red Ventures}}

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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".{{cite web| author-link=Mark Joseph Stern |last=Stern|first=Mark Joseph|url=https://slate.com/technology/2013/08/chelsea-manning-wikipedia-perfectly-reflects-new-gender-of-whistleblower-formerly-known-as-bradley.html|title=Wikipedia Beats Major News Organizations, Perfectly Reflects Chelsea Manning's New Gender|website=Slate|date=August 22, 2013|access-date=January 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105142823/https://slate.com/technology/2013/08/chelsea-manning-wikipedia-perfectly-reflects-new-gender-of-whistleblower-formerly-known-as-bradley.html|archive-date=January 5, 2022|url-status=live|oclc=728292344|publisher=The Slate Group}} 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 that 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.{{Cite web |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=October 24, 2013 |title=Chelsea Manning name row: Wikipedia editors banned from trans pages |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/24/chelsea-manning-name-row-wikipedia-editors-banned-from-trans-pages |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117094133/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/24/chelsea-manning-name-row-wikipedia-editors-banned-from-trans-pages |archive-date=January 17, 2023 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en |oclc=60623878}}

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."{{Cite web |last=George |first=Kat |title=Bruce Jenner Wikipedia Page Now Uses The Name Caitlyn and Female Pronouns, and the Before and After Illustrates Language You Should Use |date=June 1, 2015 |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/87179-bruce-jenner-wikipedia-page-now-uses-the-name-caitlyn-and-female-pronouns-and-the-before-and |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625192019/https://www.bustle.com/articles/87179-bruce-jenner-wikipedia-page-now-uses-the-name-caitlyn-and-female-pronouns-and-the-before-and |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=Bustle |language=en}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Noam |date=January 22, 2023 |title=The Culture Wars Look Different on Wikipedia |language=en |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/wikipedia-gender-identity-pronouns-guidelines/672806/ |access-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126051019/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/wikipedia-gender-identity-pronouns-guidelines/672806/ |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |url-status=live|oclc=936540106 |publisher=Emerson Collective}}

Wikipedia editors experience harassment, and in one case, a transgender editor was publicly deadnamed. The WMF has expressed concern over situations where transgender editors could be repelled from Wikipedia due to online abuse.{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Julia |date=April 8, 2019 |title=Wikipedia Isn't Officially a Social Network. But the Harassment Can Get Ugly. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/wikipedia-harassment-wikimedia-foundation.html |access-date=January 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112032326/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/wikipedia-harassment-wikimedia-foundation.html|archive-date=January 12, 2023|url-status=live}} BBC News said in 2020, "Many, particularly women and members of the LGBTQ community, have complained of abuse and harassment from other editors."{{Cite news |date=May 23, 2020 |title=Wikipedia sets new rule to combat "toxic behaviour" |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52779899 |access-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605151940/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52779899 |url-status=live }} Editors can report harassment to administrators via email or notice boards, which can cause harassers to be barred from editing.

Editors in anti-LGBTQ areas experience more virulent harassment. LGBTQ editors from countries where being LGBTQ is criminalized often use aliases and edit from various IP addresses so their work is not traced back to them. In one instance, an editor was blocked by a Wikipedia administrator since their username suggested they may be gay. The administrator was eventually blocked for those actions when WMF'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. 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.

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.{{Cite news |last1=Sierra |first1=Laura Valentina Cortés |last2=Constantino |first2=Sophia |last3=Hauger |first3=Bertrand |title=LGBTQ+ International: Chile's Non-Binary ID, Slovakia In Mourning, Mr Gay World — And The Week's Other Top News |url=https://worldcrunch.com/lgbtq-plus/slovakia-hate-crime |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124230906/https://worldcrunch.com/lgbtq-plus/slovakia-hate-crime |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |access-date=January 24, 2023 |work=Worldcrunch |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nouvelobs.com/bibliobs/20221013.OBS64554/nous-denoncons-le-traitement-que-reserve-wikipedia-aux-personnes-trans-non-binaires-et-intersexes.html|title=Nous dénonçons le traitement que réserve Wikipédia aux personnes trans, non binaires et intersexes|trans-title=We denounce Wikipedia's treatment of trans, non-binary and intersex people|website=L'Obs|date=October 13, 2022|access-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121153503/https://www.nouvelobs.com/bibliobs/20221013.OBS64554/nous-denoncons-le-traitement-que-reserve-wikipedia-aux-personnes-trans-non-binaires-et-intersexes.html|archive-date=January 21, 2023|url-status=live|issn=0029-4713}}

File:LGBT user group at Europride parade.png in Stockholm, 2018]]

The Wikimedia movement has seen campaigns and hosted edit-a-thons{{Cite magazine |last=McMillen |first=Andrew |title=One Woman's Brilliant 'Fuck You' to Wikipedia Trolls |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2017/02/one-womans-brilliant-fuck-you-to-wikipedia-trolls/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711150355/https://www.wired.com/2017/02/one-womans-brilliant-fuck-you-to-wikipedia-trolls/ |url-status=live|date=February 6, 2017 }} to improve coverage of LGBTQ topics.{{Cite web |last=Milliken |first=Alice |date=July 7, 2014 |title=Wikipedia holds Pride 'edit-a-thons' to improve LGBT-related content |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2014/07/07/wikipedia-holds-pride-edit-a-thons-to-improve-lgbt-related-content/ |access-date=January 20, 2023 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120175919/https://www.thepinknews.com/2014/07/07/wikipedia-holds-pride-edit-a-thons-to-improve-lgbt-related-content/|archive-date=January 20, 2023|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |editor-last1=Mehra |editor-first1=Bharat |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XhOUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120 |title=LGBTQ+ Librarianship in the 21st Century: Emerging Directions of Advocacy and Community Engagement in Diverse Information Environments |date=May 1, 2019 |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |isbn=978-1-78756-475-6 |language=en |access-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-date=August 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828160807/https://books.google.com/books?id=XhOUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120 |url-status=live|doi=10.1108/S0065-283020190000045011|chapter=Coming Out of the Closet: Librarian Advocacy to Advance LGBTQ+ Wikipedia Engagement|last1=Wexelbaum|first1=Rachel|pages=115–142 |s2cid=150552977 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Miquel-Ribé |first1=Marc |last2=Kaltenbrunner |first2=Andreas |last3=Keefer |first3=Jeffrey M. |date=December 21, 2021 |title=Bridging LGBT+ Content Gaps Across Wikipedia Language Editions |url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijidi/article/view/37270 |url-status=live |journal=The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=90–131 |doi=10.33137/ijidi.v5i4.37270 |issn=2574-3430 |jstor=48641981 |s2cid=245573982 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113153832/https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijidi/article/view/37270 |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=January 18, 2022 |hdl-access=free |jstor-access=free |hdl=10230/52360}}{{Rp|page=|pages=91–92}} Wikipedia Loves Libraries, one of these initiatives, saw the Tom of Finland Foundation become the first LGBTQ cultural heritage institution to participate, hosting "Queering Wikipedia" edit-a-thons. Wiki Loves Pride is a campaign from June to October to create and improve LGBTQ-related content across Wikimedia projects.{{Cite news |last=Phadnis |first=Renuka |date=July 6, 2014 |title=Wikipedia edit-a-thons to add content on LGBTs |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |publisher=The Hindu Group |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/wikipedia-editathons-to-add-content-on-lgbts/article6183874.ece |url-status=live |access-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507040147/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/wikipedia-editathons-to-add-content-on-lgbts/article6183874.ece |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |issn=0971-751X |oclc=13119119}} Wiki Loves Pride has promoted coverage of notable LGBTQ people.{{Cite magazine |last=Lapowsky |first=Issie |date=March 2015 |title=Meet the Editors Fighting Racism and Sexism on Wikipedia |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/03/wikipedia-sexism/ |url-status=live |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114033044/http://www.wired.com/2015/03/wikipedia-sexism |archive-date=November 14, 2015 |access-date=January 23, 2023}} Art+Feminism has been described as "a campaign to improve the site's representation of women and nonbinary individuals". WikiProject LGBT studies,{{Efn|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.{{Rp|page=92}}}} which works to create and enhance articles on LGBTQ topics, is present on 28 Wikipedias, {{As of|2023|lc=y}}.{{Rp|page=92|pages=}} An LGBTQ portal for organization has been overseen since 2006.

Wikimedia LGBT is a user group affiliate of WMF,{{Rp|page=92|pages=}} established in August 2012. In 2022, WMF joined human rights and LGBTQ organizations in opposing the Kids Online Safety Act introduced in the United States Senate. 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".{{Cite web |last=Gold |first=Ashley |date=November 28, 2022 |title=Human rights, LGBTQ+ organizations oppose Kids Online Safety Act |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/11/28/human-rights-lgbtq-organizations-kids-online-safety-act |access-date=January 31, 2023 |website=Axios |publisher=Cox Enterprises |language=en |archive-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101105555/https://www.axios.com/2022/11/28/human-rights-lgbtq-organizations-kids-online-safety-act |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Feiner |first=Lauren |title=Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers |date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/28/kids-online-safety-act-may-harm-minors-civil-society-groups-warn.html |access-date=January 31, 2023 |publisher=CNBC |language=en |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102143413/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/28/kids-online-safety-act-may-harm-minors-civil-society-groups-warn.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite news |title=Temporary designation of Suntec toilets as 'gender-neutral' sparks hostile online reaction; others see move as positive |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/temporary-designation-toilets-gender-neutral-hostile-online-2235021 |access-date=September 7, 2023 |work=Today |language=en |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819052032/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/temporary-designation-toilets-gender-neutral-hostile-online-2235021 |url-status=live|last1=Lam|first1=Nicole |date=August 18, 2023}}{{Cite news |date=August 18, 2023 |title='So do I sit or stand?' Netizens divided by gender-neutral toilet at Suntec City |url=https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/so-do-i-sit-or-stand-netizens-divided-gender-neutral-toilet-suntec-city |access-date=September 7, 2023 |work=AsiaOne |language=en |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819111518/https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/so-do-i-sit-or-stand-netizens-divided-gender-neutral-toilet-suntec-city |url-status=live |last1=Lim|first1=Kewei}}

British physicist and Wikipedia editor Jess Wade has worked to improve coverage of LGBTQ topics on the site. Every day in 2018, Wade wrote at least one Wikipedia article about a woman, person of color, or LGBTQ figure in science to expand the diversity of Wikipedia's coverage.{{Cite web |last=Zane |first=Zachary |date=January 2, 2019 |title=This Scientist Is Updating Wikipedia with Women, POC, & LGBTQ+ History |url=https://www.pride.com/news/2019/1/02/scientist-updating-wikipedia-women-poc-lgbtq-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820105152/https://www.pride.com/news/2019/1/02/scientist-updating-wikipedia-women-poc-lgbtq-history |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=Pride.com |publisher=Here Media |language=en}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{citation |author1-first=Katy |author1-last=Weathington|author2-first=Jed R. |author2-last=Brubaker |title=Queer Identities, Normative Databases: Challenges to Capturing Queerness on Wikidata |journal=Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction |volume=7 |date=April 2023|pages=1–26 |doi=10.1145/3579517|url=https://cmci.colorado.edu/idlab/assets/bibliography/pdf/Weathington2023-Wikidata.pdf}}

{{Portal|LGBTQ}}

• WikiProject LGBTQ+ studies at English Wikipedia

{{Wikipedia}}

Category:LGBTQ and society

Category:Wikipedia