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I Shouldn’t Have To Risk My Safety In Order To Have My Voice Heard
Sites that require my photo and legal name in order to publish there just put me in danger
Stalking, harassment, doxxing, threats — these are all well-known and well-documented things that many women face when using their voice on the internet. There are also many notable cases where men have faced these same kinds of issues. Because I know that to be the case, I made the choice right from the beginning to write under a professional name.
Pen names have been standard fare for writers for hundreds of years, and that practice is even more relevant now when an unlimited number of readers has access to your media presence for an unlimited amount of time. I have friends and acquaintances who have been stalked and harassed for what they have written. I even know a couple who have received death threats.
Why is it then that certain websites want to require everyone to use a real photograph and a “legal” name? What does that actually provide them, other than data that they can sell to advertisers? They profess that it helps keep people more accountable for what they write, but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. And is what they assert it provides an appropriate balance for what it asks of the people that they are potentially putting in danger?
