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In order to clear this talk page up for future work and discussion, I made a subpage where I've moved the discussion regarding the appropriateness of mentioning Jan Morris's former name in the article lede (or in the article at all). Please browse through the past discussion on the subject before making changes in this regard, as it is a contentious issue.
I've also added/revised remaining section headings to make them more appropriate for future discussion. Gracehoper (talk) 17:08, 13 March 2010 (UTC)
What's the protocol for personal pronouns for people who have changed expressed gender? I generally call someone "she" if she wants to be seen as female, and "he" if he wants to be seen as male, whatever they wish. But in this article we are dealing with the history of someone who wanted to be seen as male at one time, and then later wanted to be seen as female. Should we use "he" for the early history and "she" for the later, in the same article? Maybe polite, but a bit confusing! The Guardian article I cited has the same problem, and does exactly this. Emrys2 07:01, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
86.128.235.70 (talk) 16:20, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
I reverted the edit that changed "assigned male at birth" to "born a male", because on Wikipedia we prioritize neutral point of view ahead of "conventional language". "Male" is a loaded term that is used in the vernacular to refer to both gender and sex. From the perspective of gender, some perspectives say that nobody is born with a particular gender. "Assigned male at birth" is a more neutral phrasing, in my opinion, because it sticks to the facts. Feel free to discuss here. SparsityProblem (talk) 23:47, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
I don't think I agree. "assigned" sounds as if there was some reason to have to make a choice. It is misleading people to think tht at birth for most babies there is even any hesitation about what sex they are considered to be. PhilomenaO'M (talk) 20:44, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
It seems to me that Conundrum ought to be mentioned in the lead of this article. I say this because it is a well-known book which many consider the first of its kind, and it seems likely that Jan Morris is mentioned as often as the author of Conundrum as she is as the author of Pax Britannica. I don't want to re-ignite the battle regarding names in the lead, but perhaps mentioning a book that she is well-known for having written, and which takes as its subject her gender identity and transition, in the lead of the article would be the most successful way of mentioning her transition and former name in the way it respectfully ought to be: as subject-matters she has addressed as an author.
I want to make sure there is no major disagreement before doing so. Thoughts? Gracehoper (talk) 17:33, 13 March 2010 (UTC)
I think Gracehoper is right. Unfortunately I don't think any of Morris's books are that well-known and certainly Conundrum is the first one that brought her to many people's attention so I agree it would be logical to include it in the opener and thus be able to introduce the gender transition easily. PhilomenaO'M (talk) 20:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
The BBC obit https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55021555 leads with Pax Britannica and doesn't mention Conundrum until near the end, so I think her travel writing is probably the better known of the two. GeorgeSonOfJohn (talk) 21:09, 22 November 2020 (UTC)
Having read a number of Morris' books, and particularly her discussion of nationality in Trieste, the Meaning of Nowhere, I seriously doubt that she is a "Welsh nationalist". He was born in England and his mother was English. His father was Welsh. In Trieste she calls herself "a half-breed". Legally, or course, her nationality is British, not Welsh. 208.87.248.162 (talk) 17:41, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
What is her birthname? John Morris or James Morris?! Should be at least included since she published books under those names. --MacRusgail (talk) 15:17, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
Nobody has ever called her John. PhilomenaO'M (talk) 20:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
I have reverted everything before 1972 to male, and made sure everything after is female. James Morris WAS a man; he lived and published as such. Jan Morris IS a woman; she lives and publishes as such. The three volumes of Pax Britannia are still published under BOTH names. BOTH pronouns apply.96.52.96.19 (talk) 17:43, 7 March 2014 (UTC)
Two books are listed for 1964, The Presence of Spain and Spain. Are these actually separate books, or the same one by two titles? (Spain was apparently added later, because I just sorted it into chronological order in the list.) --David Edgar (talk) 17:24, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
I corrected the "Contact!" Blog URL to http://janmorris-blog.tumblr.com/. The original URL took you to spam advertizing and a video about how to play 8-ball. Leah Macfadyen (talk) 15:37, 25 October 2016 (UTC)Leah Macfadyen
Is there no picture of her? It would significantly improve the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:1C2:4B00:47D0:706A:BD51:9876:A146 (talk) 22:46, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
I see that Morris said in interview that she was not a Travel Writer, as she did not write about movement, but wrote about Places and People. An admirable distinction in my view. So would it not be better if the article respected Morris's perspective? I have just started reading her account of Venice, and I would not describe it as a Travel book. 2A00:23C5:E41B:5D01:CDE0:5F63:E1B9:7E5D (talk) 15:43, 3 September 2023 (UTC)