The Primary-Affirmed Name project and its impact

How it's addressing forms of administrative violence

In July of 2024, the University of Alberta Launched the Primary-Affirmed Name Project. This initiative enables all university faculty, staff, and students to identify themselves by the name that they wish to be recognized as a member of the university community. 

One of the many ways the university community is acting on the values and commitments of equity, diversity, and inclusion, the Primary-Affirmed Name Project is an excellent example of how the University of Alberta is taking seriously the impacts of administrative violence. 

WHAT IS ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLENCE? 

A term coined by the legal scholar Dean Spade, administrative violence describes the harmful effects of administrative policies and processes that are often considered neutral, benign, and/or efficient. 

A common example of administrative violence is the marking of forms or applications as “incomplete” if particular information (e.g., a permanent address or phone number) is missing. This administrative practice is a form of violence because it denies those already under significant threat (e.g., people living in poverty, houseless folks) particular benefits and services. Another example of administrative violence is the use of binary categories (e.g., man/woman, male/female) on medical forms, registration forms, demographic questionnaires, etc. This administrative practice is a form of violence because it erases the existence of entire categories of people. 

HOW DOES THE PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME PROJECT ADDRESS FORMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLENCE? 

The affirmed-name project addresses administrative violence in five ways: 

  1. It recognizes non-Western naming conventions.  
  2. It acknowledges legal names are often unsafe to use.   
  3. It acknowledges the existence of multiple gender categories. 
  4. It helps to ensure individuals are addressed using their correct pronouns.
  5. It affirms the identity of transgender people by avoiding deadnaming.  
HOW DOES THE PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME PROJECT RECOGNIZE NON-WESTERN NAMING CONVENTIONS?
In Western cultures, it is common for administrative forms to ask for an individual’s first, middle, and last name. However, not all cultures order given names this way. The Primary-Affirmed Name Project de-centres Western naming conventions by allowing single names, ensuring name fields are long enough to accommodate non-English names, and supporting the use of symbols and other characters.
HOW DOES THE PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME PROJECT ACKNOWLEDGE LEGAL NAMES ARE OFTEN UNSAFE TO USE?
There are a number of reasons why a person may feel unsafe using their legal name. For example, if someone is a survivor of family violence having their legal name publicly available through university channels may result in unwanted contact with an abusive family member. The Primary-Affirmed Name Project makes it easy for individuals to avoid using their legal given names without requiring legal name changes to be made.
HOW DOES THE AFFIRMED-NAME PROJECT ACKNOWLEDGE MULTIPLE GENDER CATEGORIES?

Gender can be understood as a social construct that combines particular norms, behaviours, and roles. How gender is categorized and practiced varies between societies and over time. Some examples of different gender categories include: 

  • Ciswoman: A person who was assigned female at birth and identifies as a woman
  • Cisman: A person who was assigned male at birth and identifies as a man.
  • Transwoman: A person who identifies as a woman but was not assigned female at birth. 
  • Transman: A person who identifies as a man but was not assigned male at birth.
  • Transfeminine: An umbrella term for trans people who identify with or express femininity. Transfeminine people may or may not identify as a woman. 
  • Transmasculine: An umbrella term for trans people who identify with or express masculinity. Transmasculine people may or may not identify as a man. 
  • Nonbinary: A person who experiences their gender as not exclusively man or woman. When used as an umbrella term, it can include genderqueer, agender and genderfluid. 
  • Genderqueer: A person who doesn’t follow binary gender norms. When used as an umbrella term, it can include nonbinary, agender, and genderfluid. 
  • Agender: A person who experiences either having no gender or a neutral gender identity.
  • Genderfluid: A person whose gender identity is experienced as not being fixed and that shifts and varies over time and in relation to the context.  

The Primary-Affirmed Name Project acknowledges multiple gender categories by avoiding the use of gendered honorifics. It also ensures individuals can easily change their name if their legal name (or given birth name) no longer aligns with their gender identity. 

HOW DOES THE PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME PROJECT ENSURE PEOPLE ARE ADDRESSED USING THEIR CORRECT PRONOUNS?

Pronouns are a way to describe someone’s gender. There are many pronouns available to use depending on a person’s gender.  

  • She/her are often used to describe ciswomen, transwomen, and some transfeminine folks. 
  • He/him are often used to describe cismen, transmen, and some transmasculine folks. 
  • They/them are often used to describe nonbinary, gender queer, androgyne, and agender, and genderfluid folks. 

Some people use multiple sets of pronouns. These rolling pronouns may be used interchangeably. For example, someone may use both she/her AND they/them. Other people use neopronouns. These are pronouns that have recently been created to describe someone in a neutral way. Two examples of neopronouns are ze/zir/zirs and xe/xem/xyr. Using the wrong pronouns is an act of misgendering, which can result in feelings of exclusion, anxiety, shame, and dysphoria. 

The Primary-Affirmed Name Project enables all university faculty, staff, and students to identify themselves by the name that they wish to be recognized. For this reason, the chances of misgendering are significantly reduced.

HOW DOES THE PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME PROJECT AFFIRM THE IDENTITY OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE BY AVOIDING DEADNAMING?

Deadnaming is when you call a transgender person by the name they used prior to their transition. The majority of the time a deadname is a person’s birth name (or some version of that name). Deadnames can also be described as given names, baby names, or old names.

Deadnaming shows a lack of respect for a trans person’s existence by suggesting they are not who they say they are. The process of deadnaming can also cause feelings of exclusion, anxiety, shame, and dysphoria. It can also encourage other acts of anti-trans violence. 

By enabling all university faculty, staff, and students to identify themselves by the name that they wish to be recognized, the Primary-Affirmed Name Project eliminates the use of deadnames on course registration lists, email addresses, university listservs, diplomas, etc. 

EIGHT TIPS TO ENSURE YOU ARE RESPECTING A PERSON’S PRIMARY-AFFIRMED NAME:
  1. Only refer to people by their primary-affirmed names (even if you knew them as a different name in the past). 
  2. If you do not know how to pronounce someone’s name ask them before attempting to say it out loud. 
  3. Never assume someone’s pronouns based on their appearance. If you do not know someone’s pronouns, do not ask directly. Instead, use their name in place of pronouns until they or someone else share.
  4. Never assume someone’s honorific. In fact, it is best to avoid honorifics all together. 
  5. When introducing yourself, share your name and your pronouns. This can help avoid acts of mispronunciation and misgendering by inviting others to also share. 
  6. Correct yourself if you accidentally mispronounce, misgender, or deadname someone. If you are corrected by someone else, thank them for noticing your mistake. 
  7. Do not make an incident of mispronunciation, misgendering, or deadnaming about you. Your opinions and/or fragilities about another person’s name, gender, and pronouns are irrelevant. 
  8. Recognize people change their name for a variety of reasons and one person may change their name multiple times. That is okay and must be respected.