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Talk:Wendy Carlos

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rcarlberg (talk | contribs) at 00:56, 30 September 2024 (Using Amanda Sewell's book as a reference: Reply). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

But why does the infobox need to deadname her twice?

I get the MOS policy in this situation, but if you look at articles for Elliot Page, and others, there is no reference to deadname in the infobox. The article only says "formerly X Y Z"

Where does the policy say that the infobox also needs to say the birth name? Lillianama (talk) 00:51, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

You're right, MOS:DEADNAME only gives us guidance for including the name in the article's lead. Additionally a recent RfC on GENDERID left us with a clear consensus to use prior names as little as possible. So with that in mind, I've removed Carlos' former name from the infobox. Sideswipe9th (talk) 01:30, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you! Lillianama (talk) 02:28, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestion: More recent photos

The only photo in the article is from 1958, before her gender transition. It would make more sense to have more recent photos. What about this portrait she uses on her website? With proper attribution, could this go in the infobox? [1]https://www.wendycarlos.com/photos/wendy+pandy.jpg? JCLarsson (talk) 03:19, 27 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Alas, there seem to be no public domain, CC-by, CC-by-SA, or freely licensed pictures of Wendy Carlos after her transition. The image that you ask about is clearly marked as All Rights Reserved. Peaceray (talk) 03:47, 27 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Also, the high school yearbook photo has found its way back into the article. This was discussed here and I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have this.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 10:49, 27 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I agree. It fails to illustrate the subject. Including it at all is dubious but using it as the only image is awful. That's not to cast any aspersions on the intentions of the editor who added it. I can see why somebody might think that a bad picture is better than none at all but, in this case, it isn't. I have removed it. DanielRigal (talk) 13:28, 27 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

synthpop? jazz?

I don't recall that any of her works could be categorised as "synthpop". Can you provide any examples or should we remove that label? And how about jazz? --80.221.189.8 (talk) 14:58, 1 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Jazz is at least somewhat attested in the NYT review of Switched-On Bach that's cited. I've removed synthpop pending a mention in the article and a source. Good catch. Remsense 15:28, 1 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It would be easier to read if the period of Carlos' life before the gender/sex change was referred to as "he"

Since Carlos began gender/sex changes around 1968, it would be much easier and factually correct to refer to the earlier period as "he" rather than "she". Perhaps consider using "they" to highlight that the gender of the earlier period is not plain vanilla "she"... Cawag98 (talk) 00:18, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Switching pronouns would be more confusing and less correct. The Manual of Style says not to do this. Please see WP:GENDERID, particularly the Retroactivity section. We can't use "they" for people who have not chosen "they", or at least disclaimed everything else. DanielRigal (talk) 12:08, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to what DanielRigal stated, Wendy herself has stated she always felt female. "Didn't see why her parents didn't see it clearly" and all that. For this reason referring to her as "her" throughout her life seems like the kind and respectful thing to do. Rcarlberg (talk) 21:31, 14 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Using Amanda Sewell's book as a reference

I note that somewhere in the past year some of the passages from Amanda Sewell's book about Carlos--which Wendy herself has called "fiction"--have been woven into the narrative of her life. Rather than just dive in & remove them, I'd like to ask the assembled community: do we really want to reproduce allegations that Carlos became suicidal on being asked to perform live, when she herself disputes this? Rcarlberg (talk) 02:10, 27 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that the Amanda Sewell book should not be used for controversial claims with BLP issues. Carlos did not want a biography at all, and although most of the Sewell book is uncontroversial, some of it has been specifically denied by Carlos.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 07:24, 27 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
So will you, or one of the other senior editors, take on the task of removing disproven content?
Rcarlberg (talk) 00:56, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]