Facebook Won't Back Down From Requiring Drag Queens To Use Their Real Names

Last week, members of the drag community were outraged over Facebook's policy that forced them to use their legal names. Facebook deleted accounts, saying that only legal names were acceptable.

And this week, after meeting with Facebook reps, it looks like the fight isn't over.

Several Bay Area drag performers, along with Supervisor David Campos, met at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park on Wednesday to discuss the policy with Facebook reps.

The performers were going to protest this week in San Francisco. The protest was postponed because Facebook agreed to meet with performers and discuss the policy.

But Facebook declined to change the policy. Performers' accounts will be reinstated for two weeks, during which time they can decide if they want to provide their legal names or set up fan pages for themselves.

One person affected by the policy was Sister Roma, one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBT organization focused on community service and drag performances, that's been around since the 1970s. Roma says she was suspended from the site until she changed her name to her legal name, which is Michael Williams.

From Roma's Facebook page:

Campos and the drag performers say that they will plan another meeting with Facebook execs, according to the AP.

Facebook says that the policy is meant to "keep our community safe." In a statement to Business Insider last week, a Facebook spokesperson said, "As part of our overall standards, we ask that people who use Facebook provide their real name on their profile."