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Drag queens: Oh, don't be so bitchy, Facebook! Let us use our stage names

Handbags at dawn over free content ad network's ID policy

Drag queens are protesting against Facebook's real name policy, after the free content ad network forced them to use their legal names on the service.

A number of performers have complained about Facebook's actions after drag queen Sister Roma, who lives in San Francisco and is a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, labelled the policy as "unfair" in a post on the network.

As of Wednesday, the name "Sister Roma" was wrapped in paraphrases on Facebook, alongside that person's legal name, Michael Williams.

In a Facebook post, the performer said:

"Bottom Line: I've been Sister Roma for 27 years. Ask anyone what my name is, in or out of drag, and they will tell you it's Roma. ‪#‎MyNameIsRoma‬."

But Facebook sees it differently, having first suspended Sister Roma's account and then insisting on real name usage before allowing the drag queen to continue to use the service.

The performer has garnered lots of support from other drag queens who use their stage names on Facebook.

Sister Roma shared comments from other users on the site. One such individual said:

Please let Facebook know that their legal name policy is unfair, hurtful, discriminatory and an invasion of privacy. Tell Facebook that adults should be allowed to choose their own names and identities on their personal profiles.

The drag queen row comes after Google recently backed down from insisting on a real names policy for its social network Google+.

"If people want to use an alternative name on Facebook, they have several different options available to them, including providing an alias under their name on their profile, or creating a page specifically for that alternative persona," Facebook told the Wall Street Journal. ®

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