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(Credit: Wikipedia/CNET News)

WASHINGTON, D.C.–In the real world, I changed my gender from male to female a few years back and haven’t looked back. But on Wikipedia, my pronouns seem to be changing all the time.

In the last few weeks, there’s been a debate as to whether “he” or “she” should be used on my page with different volunteer editors taking opposite positions on whether I am entitled to use female pronouns.

After several days of being ‘he’ on Wikipedia, I was pleased Thursday to see that my pronouns had reverted back to the gender with which I identify.

Unlike the journalism world, in which the Associated Press stylebook has a concrete answer on how to handle these sorts of things, there is no official “style” on gender matters, or many other topics on Wikipedia. (Until just a few years ago, however, it was one’s anatomy or legal status that dictated AP’s assignment of pronouns. In recent years, though, the Associated Press and other news organizations have adopted policies that transgender individuals should be referred to with the pronouns with which they themselves identify.)

In the unique world of Wikipedia, an article’s contents can be changed repeatedly. That means that on matters that are in contention (and apparently my gender is one of those), things don’t get settled but remain in flux. There’s only one person who absolutely can’t weigh in–the subject themselves.

While I find it somewhat confusing to have to log in each day to see what gender I am supposed to be, I have found the debate interesting.

And, given that I am here in the nation’s capital this week for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association annual conference, I thought it a fitting subject for this page as well.