# Ellen Page is trans/nonbinary now, name is Elliot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940 "2020-12-01T18:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/1 "2020-12-01T18:09:16Z")
> **['Juno' Star Elliot Page Comes Out as Transgender](https://www.etonline.com/juno-star-elliot-page-comes-out-as-transgender-157112)** > > 'I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot,' he announced on social media on Tuesday. He came out as gay in 2014 which did not really surprise many people ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/2 "2020-12-01T18:16:02Z")
Cool. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/3 "2020-12-01T18:59:48Z")
I admit I’m surprised, but there’s also this feeling of “of course he is.” There are three people I’ve followed on YouTube who have done similar transitions, and they all have this certain mannerism I can’t quite describe, as well as this same kind of petit boyish look to them. In hindsight, they all reminded me of Elliot Page. The mannerism could just be being uncomfortable in their assigned gender, but the aesthetic definitely makes me think there may be a physiological component. Since even [sex is not binary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT0HJkr1jj4) (Scishow video link), I kinda wonder if these particular people with nonbinary gender identification are also of nonbinary sex. I also find the whole “he/they” pronoun thing to be interesting. It implies to me that the main thing those folk know is that they’re not female. I’ve seen “she/they” before, too. The former tend to be AFAB, while the latter are usually AMAB. It suggests to me that the main thing they know is that they are not the gender they were assigned at birth (which is what the acronyms above mean). Learning more about gender and how humans really work is always fascinating to me. Though I do sometimes worry I’m objectifying people a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/4 "2020-12-01T19:58:29Z")
he’s married to a woman so I guess that may change now. Knew a trans woman who stayed married to her wife for a short while after transition but eventually divorced. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/5 "2020-12-01T20:13:24Z")
Curious what this means for season 3 of Umbrella Academy (IMDB has already updated Elliot’s new name in the credits, and pronouns in his biography as far as I can tell) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/6 "2020-12-01T20:15:26Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > he’s married to a woman so I guess that may change now. Knew a trans woman who stayed married to her wife for a short while after transition but eventually divorced. …there is zero reason to think this may change now. What on earth would make you say something like that? Just because you know a couple who happened to get divorced doesn’t give you any special insight here. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/7 "2020-12-01T20:22:17Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Curious what this means for season 3 of Umbrella Academy (IMDB has already updated Elliot’s new name in the credits, and pronouns in his biography as far as I can tell) > > Brian An interesting question. It’s certainly possible to write it in, but can they can do it well? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/8 "2020-12-01T20:26:17Z")
Depends on if Elliot is OK playing a cis woman. If they make Vanya trans, I hope that isn’t the main reason for doomsday #3. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/9 "2020-12-01T20:31:55Z")
I mean, of course his (or is that “their”? I’m not sure which way to go, with pronouns of “he/they”) marital status might change. Anyone’s marital status might change. But I would assume that anyone who’s going public about something like this has probably already discussed it in depth with their spouse, and in fact those discussions probably had something to do with the decision to go public. But hey, as long as we’re trading anecdotes, my mom’s next door neighbor came out as trans a couple of years ago, and her and her wife’s relationship seems to be as strong as it’s ever been (and certainly, both of them are now friendlier to the neighbors, possibly due to that big source of stress now being addressed). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/10 "2020-12-01T20:36:24Z")
He was OK to be a lesbian playing a bisexual, I’m sure he’ll have no problem being a trans man playing same, if they don’t rewrite Vanya as a trans man (They’ve diverged a bit from the comics, so they’re free to do whatever they like, I suppose). Anyway - good for him. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/11 "2020-12-01T20:41:53Z")
Just a question about he/they – when I’ve seen this before, I’ve seen the nominative and objective terms, I think (he/him, she/her, they/them). I don’t really understand what he/they means. If I were to see Elliot on the street, would I say, “There he is” or “There they are”? This [page](https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns) (first Google result) doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Pebble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lavender_pebble/32/6290_2.png) [@Lavender\_Pebble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Pebble)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/12 "2020-12-01T20:50:28Z")
In my social group, which is admittedly one data point but made up of a variety of queers, when someone states “he/them” as identifiers, they mean you can use either they/them or he/him interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/13 "2020-12-01T20:51:43Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/14 "2020-12-01T21:05:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > He was OK to be a lesbian playing a bisexual, I’m sure he’ll have no problem being a trans man playing same, if they don’t rewrite Vanya as a trans man (They’ve diverged a bit from the comics, so they’re free to do whatever they like, I suppose). He may be okay with it, but those are rather different. One is about pretending to be attracted to someone you’re not, while the other is pretending to be something you are not, something you disliked being seen as so much that you decided to publicly transition. Actors do that—actors will play genders which are not their own–but it’s a lot less common. And trans folk specifically often have a hard time going back to pretending to be the gender they transitioned from. He may be okay with continuing to play a woman while not being one. But it is still a different thing that just playing someone with a different sexual orientation. Heck, we don’t know if he has/will decide(d) to take testosterone, which could deepen his voice and make it harder to play female characters. And, yes, I’ve always seen he/they to be short for “either he/him or they/them.” I’ve even seen “he/she/they.” ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/15 "2020-12-01T21:39:48Z")
[Page in Hard Candy. One scary movie.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424136/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/16 "2020-12-01T22:20:51Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …there is zero reason to think this may change now. What on earth would make you say something like that? Just because you know a couple who happened to get divorced doesn’t give you any special insight here. What special insight do you need to consider that a lesbian may not want to be married to a man? ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/17 "2020-12-01T22:26:06Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > What special insight do you need to consider that a lesbian may not want to be married to a man? His wife is very happy for him. [Elliot Page’s Wife Emma Portner Applauds ‘Juno’ Star for Coming Out as Trans: ‘I Am So Proud’](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/elliot-pages-wife-is-so-proud-of-him-for-coming-out-as-trans/) ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/18 "2020-12-01T22:26:17Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …there is zero reason to think this may change now. What on earth would make you say something like that? Just because you know a couple who happened to get divorced doesn’t give you any special insight here. Zero reason? Emma Portner came out as gay 8 years ago and married a woman 2 years ago. That might mean she wants to be married to a woman. I have a problem with your assumption that gay women can just be turned The choice to make the change was inherently Elliot’s. The choice to love and support the change is inherently Emma’s. The choice to continue to remain married is for both of them to decide together. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/19 "2020-12-01T22:29:51Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > > > he’s married to a woman so I guess that may change now. Knew a trans woman who stayed married to her wife for a short while after transition but eventually divorced. > > …there is zero reason to think this may change now. What on earth would make you say something like that? Just because you know a couple who happened to get divorced doesn’t give you any special insight here. Emma Portner married somebody who identified as a woman. I don’t feel it’s unreasonable to speculate that having her wife turn into her husband might put a strain on their marriage. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/20 "2020-12-01T22:33:33Z")
Yes it is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940.md?page=2)