Talk:Janelle Monáe

Pronouns
There's no conflict between being non-binary and female, or being non-binary and using feminine gender pronouns. Reliable sources such as Out Magazine continue to use she/her pronouns for Monáe. Until Monáe makes a clear preference, we should probably hold off changing her [sic] pronouns on this article for now. feminist (talk) 03:47, 11 January 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree. There's a good chance Monáe does not have a preference. Or may not mind she/her/they/them. Or asks that they/them are used.  Eve rgr een Fir  (talk) 04:54, 11 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Follow-up: Monáe has now specified they/them pronouns. Paul Erik  (talk) (contribs) 00:42, 30 January 2020 (UTC)


 * That article uses they/them pronouns, but it nowhere indicates that Monae identifies according to they/them pronouns... The ending piece refers to Sam Smith... Rcul4u998 (talk) 00:59, 30 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Ah, you are right. My mistake. Paul Erik  (talk) (contribs) 03:24, 30 January 2020 (UTC)


 * Absent a source indicating the pronouns should be changed, I undid recent edit(s) which changed only a few "she"s to "they", though in all but one case I did so by revising the sentences to not need pronouns. -sche (talk) 19:10, 13 February 2020 (UTC)

Monáe has not requested the use of they/them, per interview reported 17 June 2020:


 * Monáe was also asked about her pronouns, with the interviewer pointing out that her Wikipedia page was amended to incorporate they/them pronouns following her “non-binary” tweet.


 * “That was not me,” she said. “I think people can call me whatever it is they want to call me. I know who I am. I know my journey. And I don’t have to declare anything.” — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.0.95.182 (talk) 21:05, 4 September 2020 (UTC)

I noticed several edits changing (some of!) the pronouns between she and they recently. One referenced the MOS, which indeed says to use the pronouns corresponding to the subject's most recently expressed gender identity. Monae tweeted "#Iamnonbinary", and though our article previously said Monae "did not explicitly confirm nor deny whether she is non-binary" (citing an article in The Cut from February), that was editorial OR and I replaced it with what The Cut article actually contains, a quote from Monae. (At least some more recent media pieces, e.g. [//www.insider.com/greys-anatomy-sara-ramirez-came-out-as-nonbinary-on-instagram-2020-8 this from the last few weeks], refer to the tweet as Monae coming out as non-binary.) However, not all non-binary people use they pronouns; for example, Rebecca Sugar uses both she and they, and our article sticks with she. Monae's twitter bio, an RS for WP:ABOUTSELF info, lists Monae's pronouns as they/she. Thus, either would be acceptable in this article, but since this article appears to predominantly use she, and recent news articles about Monae also use she, I would suggest revising the few (relatively recently introduced) theys back to she for now. -sche (talk) 05:28, 16 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Some IP users are continuing to change the pronouns to they/them. As of November 2020, reliable sources are still using she/her pronouns . Paul Erik  (talk) (contribs) 03:04, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Again, more IP users changing the pronouns to they/them, resulting in the page being "semi-protected." Such edits are likely based a recent interview in the Advocate where Monae says "I'm nonbinary, so I just don't see myself as a woman, solely. I feel all of my energy. I feel like god is so much bigger than the 'he' or the 'she.' And if I am from God, I am everything. I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything I am. Beyond the binary" but the article states: "Monáe has not clarified their pronouns yet." So, unless those pronouns are clarified, we should stick with the she/her pronouns for the time being. Historyday01 (talk) 17:22, 21 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Reliable sources are not always reliable in terms of pronoun usage. Many so-called reliable sources will misgender people even when stating that a person uses different pronouns. This is clearly evident in the LA Times interview in which Monae states that they use they/them and she/her, but the article only uses she/her pronouns throughout. When people use multiple pronouns but only one is used, that is denying that person's gender. Alternate every section or every paragraph but do something to show that the multiple pronouns are respected. CompendiumWizard (talk) 18:18, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
 * For consistency sake, as I've noted elsewhere, I think we should stick with she/he, so as to not confuse anyone. And since Monáe is pronoun flexible, I don't see the harm with sticking with one set of pronouns (she/her). I know other media outlets have used multiple pronouns in one article, but, personally, I find that confusing to readers. Besides, the fact that multiple pronouns can be used is already mentioned at the beginning of the article in a note.Historyday01 (talk) 21:43, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
 * A rep for Monáe confirmed to Rolling Stone that the singer continues to use she/her pronouns. which is why I put it there yesterday and why the source should not have been removed. Trillfendi (talk) 17:54, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Well, the Rolling Stone article is mainly summarizing what she said on Red Table Talk. Besides, the new note on the article is better, more descriptive than the previous one, and more helpful to users. Additionally, that Rolling Stone article has been added to the "Personal Life" section of the article. What her rep said doesn't contradict that Monae has described herself as pronoun flexible, basically, in a LA Times interview (noted in the below discussion). Historyday01 (talk) 18:08, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia should use people’s correct pronouns, regardless of whether or not they’re their preferred ones. 2A00:23C4:AA1D:4A01:30F2:4CC3:24B2:DBB6 (talk) 11:52, 20 February 2024 (UTC)


 * Um, Wikipedia only uses the preferred pronouns (based on reliable sources), not the ones we think are "correct." Historyday01 (talk) 13:35, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 April 2022
Janelle has just came out as Non-Binary so their pronouns need to be changed to They/Them and they need to be identified as a Non-Binary person. 81.102.20.121 (talk) 16:40, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. MadGuy7023 (talk) 16:48, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Is CNN reliable?
 * https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/22/entertainment/janelle-monae-nonbinary-cec/index.html 73.230.220.85 (talk) 17:11, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * The article already covers Monáe's identity.The article you cite says "Janelle Monáe said that they identify as nonbinary and use both they/them and she/her pronouns" so the article is in compliance  Eve rgr een Fir  (talk) 17:21, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Right. That article doesn't say anything specifically, but it links to an LA Times interview with Monae which notes that Monae is pronoun flexible. The article says: "Monáe brings a carefree spirit to thoughtful conversation — happy to veer off on a tangent, deeply enmeshed in the issues raised by her high-concept work. The singer identifies as nonbinary, adding: “My pronouns are free-ass m— and they/them, her/she.”" I think what was said on the talk page of Rebecca Sugar (see the discussions here, here, here, here, here, and here) is instructive here, in which I said, in part, in one discussion, "I'm not aware of any Wikipedia policy when it comes to people with multiple pronouns...I still tend to favor using the same pronouns throughout an article, whether she/her or they/them in terms of Rebecca. At the same time, I do tend to believe that the most common pronouns should be used for Rebecca...without a unifying policy, I guess its all up to consensus on here to decide if to use multiple pronouns or not." I'd recommend reading the above linked discussions, as there was a LOT of back-and-forth when it came to Rebecca's pronouns, and it can be relevant here. Maybe we should do something similar to the Rebecca Sugar page here with a note at the beginning saying something like, using WP:HIDDEN for hidden text:
 * "[begin note] Monáe uses she/her and they/them pronouns. This article uses feminine pronouns for consistency.[end note] [Hidden Text begin:] There is consensus to use 'she' because, as the article explains, Monae uses both 'she' and 'they' pronouns, and because Monae is covered by our sources as 'she'. This avoids confusing readers. If you think this should be changed, you should seek consensus by participating in discussion on the talk page. See previous discussions at Talk:Janelle Monáe and Talk:Janelle Monáe.[Hidden Text end]"
 * Thoughts on that? Historyday01 (talk) 17:35, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Works for me!  Eve rgr een Fir  (talk) 17:38, 22 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Great! I'm guessing that there will be others in the future which will raise this same issue, and its definitely possible that reliable sources will lean toward using they/them in the future, but for now, I think the existing pronouns are here are fine. Historyday01 (talk) 17:40, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

Categories which may be outdated or misgendering
Given that Monáe has come out as nonbinary, we should probably reexamine some of the categories Monáe's listed in here (several women ones for instance). I don't know whether Monáe would not like being called a woman, or the etiquette here however. What is the Wiki policy on this?Mcc1789 (talk) 15:50, 24 April 2022 (UTC)


 * Good question. I think we might need some new categories. The discussion on Talk:ND Stevenson may be instructive here. Perhaps Category:Non-binary actors, Category:American non-binary actors, and Category:Non-binary musicians along with any others in Category:Non-binary people by occupation may be useful for Monáe. Historyday01 (talk) 16:08, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

her SF writing
article needs section on this see NY TIMES of May 5, 2022 2603:7000:8002:5FF8:E897:FFE8:1CC2:F7EB (talk) 11:59, 5 May 2022 (UTC)


 * I mean, sure, since she has her own book, The Memory Librarian now, and there is various mentions of her on the Afrofuturism page. While today's NY Times article is behind a paywall, there is a review of the book back in April too. Historyday01 (talk) 12:50, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

Gendered terms
The first line describes them as an "actress", a term with implicit gender. Might it be better to change to "actor", which is a more neutral term?

It's not fully neutral, but it's at least more common to use "actors" than "actresses" for mixed groups so seems reasonable to use it for the singular Delta901 (talk) 03:11, 20 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Hmm. I'd say that either "Actor" or "performer", or something similar which isn't gendered, would be good. Historyday01 (talk) 03:21, 20 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm OK with using the term "actor" but which WP guideline allows it? Does she call herself an actor or actress? For example, see Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg call herself an actor, so the article uses that term in the lead section. is it based on Goldberg's preference or a WP guideline? --Mann Mann (talk) 03:26, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Significance of their ordering of pronouns
There are two conventions commonly in use within the LGBT community regarding the ordering of one's pronouns (for people with multiple sets); either the first one given is to be used primarily, or they are to be alternated between. (Sources: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/05/people-use-pronouns/, https://www.them.us/story/multiple-sets-of-pronouns ) Between her expressed preference of "they/them, her/she" and their self-written biography on Spotify, which uses exclusively they/them pronouns (https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ueGR6SWhUJfvEhqkvMsVs) and is notable under WP:BLPSELFPUB, MOS:GID implies that the only prudent course of action would be to "reflect the person's most recent expressed self-identification," ie. use they/them pronouns throughout the article. Analgacon (talk) 07:37, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with this, and I was surprised to see that the article was still using she/her exclusively. Even on article for non-binary people that are mired in conflict from conservative editors trying to erase or minimize non-binary identities, the articles still usually resolve to have a note on the first pronoun usage to explain the subject's pronouns without having to go to the Personal Life section.  The article should primarily use they/them, with a footnote on the first usage explaining that Monae also uses she/her, but that they/them is used here for consistency. Dfsghjkgfhdg (talk) 08:11, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Hmm, I said in an earlier discussion to use she/her (I only said they should be used for the time being, as it wasn't directly said that Monae preferred they/them). I may be fine with changing it to they/them, and if there was a change, then this new note could be added to the article:
 * "[begin note] Monáe uses she/her and they/them pronouns. This article uses they/them pronouns for consistency.[end note] [Hidden Text begin:] There is consensus to use 'they' because, as the article explains, Monae uses both 'she' and 'they' pronouns. This avoids confusing readers. If you think this should be changed, you should seek consensus by participating in discussion on the talk page. See previous discussions at Talk:Janelle Monáe and Talk:Janelle Monáe.[Hidden Text end]"
 * I'm not sure why there isn't a note at the beginning of the article, as there used to be (like there is on the Rebecca Sugar article). I don't know why it was removed.
 * A hurdle to this change would be what I said in the past: "its definitely possible that reliable sources will lean toward using they/them in the future, but for now, I think the existing pronouns are here are fine." Doing a quick search, it looks like Vibe, Rolling Stone (also see here), Consequence, Dallas Observer, Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, NPR (also here and here), Flood Magazine, Star Tribune, NBC Washington, ASU News, Charlotte Observer, Variety, SFGate, Grammy Awards, Pink News, The Guardian, Billboard, and MSNBC use she/her pronouns for Monáe. In contrast, Columbus Dispatch, Washington Post, Allure, Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, LA Times (also uses she/her), and Them (also uses she/her) use they/them for Monáe.
 * It is my understanding for pronoun changes of biographies on here is that Wikipedia relies on what the majority of reliable sources use to inform what pronouns are used. As such, should we keep it as she/her (the majority of reliable sources appear to favor this at present), or change it to they/them? Because there will probably be some users (probably IP users) who try and change the pronouns regardless of our discussion here. I wasn't aware of the convention about pronoun order, but I think that could be tricky to pin down, because I don't think Monáe has directly said why the pronouns are in that order and/or talked about about the preference for that pronoun order.Historyday01 (talk) 21:15, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Per MOS:TRANS we should use the gendered words the subject prefers, even if that's different from what's stated in reliable sources. Monáe has stated using both she/her and they/them, without specifying a preference for one or the other. The most recent pronoun statement I could find was her appearance at the Critics Choice Awards in January 2023, where she listed her pronouns as "she/her, they/them and free-ass motherfucker." (I think we can ignore the third of these ;-) )
 * As a nonbinary person myself I understand the desire of some to default to they/them, but I'm not sure that's necessary in this case. As long as both sets of pronouns are noted in the bio, sticking to she/her throughout the article until and unless Monáe expresses a preference otherwise would probably attract less vandalism, in any case. Funcrunch (talk) 21:51, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Good point about MOS:TRANS, and I'll keep that in mind considering this issue has cropped up a number of times before. Right, exactly. I can agree, that as long as both sets of the pronouns are in the bio, then using she/her throughout the article works. Historyday01 (talk) 00:14, 10 October 2023 (UTC)
 * None of our decisions about pronoun usage should be motivated by anticipated vandalism. We do not negotiate with etc.  That said, it seems the biography was not self-authored, so the point kicking off this discussion is not particularly relevant.  That said, the note should still be added.
 * It seems we have consensus on that front at least, so someone should go ahead and do it. Dfsghjkgfhdg (talk) 06:41, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I can agree. In terms of attempted vandalism, I was only pointing out that it will likely happen no matter the consensus we come to here. Historyday01 (talk) 13:53, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I think it was my comment about vandalism that was being responded to. Agreed that it shouldn't be a consideration. I guess I'm just tired of seeing so much vandalism on nb bios :-( Funcrunch (talk) 15:56, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I'm tired of it too. Historyday01 (talk) 16:24, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Where did you see it say that Monáe's Spotify bio is self-written? I just looked and at the bottom it's attributed to "Andy Kellman, Rovi". Funcrunch (talk) 21:55, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
 * There should be a note that Monáe uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, like there is for the articles of other people who accept multiple pronouns. I do not think it's necessary to shift to they/them per Funcrunch (see Monáe's January 2023 statement, and that the Spotify bio does not seem to be autobiographical). Wracking  talk! 02:11, 10 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I can agree, having a note would be helpful, and as I said above, due to the reliable sources leaning against use of they/them, and the fact that Monae has stated that she favors she/her and they/them pronouns, as Funcrunch pointed out rightly so, I don't see an issue with the existing pronoun usage, Historyday01 (talk) 02:22, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

Reminder: Categories shouldn't misgender
One would think this would be obvious, but apparently there's "consensus" needed to move misgendering categories to those which fit a person's gender identity (oh, BOLD is dead, apparently). User:Mcc1789 brought this up two years ago and then... nothing happened. While there's a (separate) argument to be made about WP:OC with the sheer number of categories the article has, it'd seem wholly uncontroversial to have done what I did, which was change either the categories to the correct non-binary equivalent or to move them up to their respective non-gendered parent categories, but here we are. I know AGF, but this level of scrutiny for what'd be an entirely uncontroversial change in, say, a trans actress's page shortly after she came out feels like non-binary erasure. 2803:4600:1116:1457:B493:8805:6F79:1311 (talk) 08:39, 3 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Yeah, intentional or not it comes off that way. Ridiculous.Mcc1789 (talk) 12:36, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I can agree. I reversed the user who reverted this helpful change by the OP here and directed them to this discussion. I wholly expect my edit to be reversed, but if I can at least encourage them to participate here, that would be great. As to what the OP is saying, I think this talk page is better than some others in discussing categories that need to be changed... Historyday01 (talk) 19:22, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I reversed the user who reverted this helpful change by the OP here and directed them to this discussion. I wholly expect my edit to be reversed... but if I can at least encourage them to participate here... Wow... You predict the future and someone's reaction? Do you know me?! Are you aware of my WP history and contributions?! You didn't see my edit summary, did you? And you obviously didn't see my reply on my talk page. You don't even remeber my username and our previous interactions (e.g. talk stuff). Not interested in discussing a topic when someone writes stuff like your above comment. Next time, when you revert edits, preview them. And I'm not the user(s) who edited and changed the categories. You better take a look at the revision history and ping users like . Good luck. --Mann Mann (talk) 02:55, 4 May 2024 (UTC)