Talk:Zal Batmanglij

Parents' names and sexual orientation

Finalfantasyairplane, regarding your revert, there is no rule for or against mentioning parents' names in one's biography. In this case, the mother is already known, so is it much more to mention the father as well? In addition, are you considering Zal's sexual orientation controversial? The New York Times covered his background and covered that aspect, even quoting him about what he thought about it. Is it a problem with including these details or how they are included in prose? Erik (talk | contribs) 02:11, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

For the latter, it may be worth referencing WP:LGBT#Guidelines. If needed, we can attribute The New York Times directly. It is not something to censor from his biography. Erik (talk | contribs) 02:24, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Erik Not controversial at all. But other directors with one, two or three films don't have their sexual orientations in their bios. After reviewing the guidelines I suggest we wait and see how he refers to himself in future or upcoming interviews. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Finalfantasyairplane (talk • contribs) 02:05, May 31, 2013‎

I'm not sure why we are looking to other directors' articles for guidance. It could be that they are not up to snuff. Look at his younger brother's article instead at Rostam Batmanglij; it mentions his sexual orientation in "Personal life". I'm not crazy about a section just for that, but I think if it's worth mentioning for Rostam, it's worth mentioning for Zal. After all, The New York Times mentions both of them, and I don't think one can get a better attribution than that newspaper anyway. Erik (talk | contribs) 12:20, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

I understand what you are saying. I think Rostam is good comparison point. If you go on his twitter account he says he is gay in his bio. Zal's twitter doesn't say that. If we are going to follow the guidelines of self-identifying. Again, I suggest we wait and see if he self identifies in the coming weeks. Would that work for you? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.251.97.132 (talk • contribs) 12:45, May 31, 2013

He already self-identified himself in The New York Times, which is as solid of a source as one can attribute. He commented directly on the matter. I don't see why we need additional sourcing. It is just one aspect of the filmmaker, and we can keep it minimal. But it should exist at least. If we can add further biographical information about him to make his sexual orientation one detail among several, we should do that instead of leaving it out entirely. We need a mention in the article body anyway to warrant including Category:LGBT directors. Erik (talk | contribs) 16:57, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

IMHO the use of the category inclusion is an elegant way to address the fact without making him a "gay" director. I think you hit the perfect compromise. He seems very low-key about it. Isn't it 2013? Do we have to note sexuality on a encyclopedic entry. No other director of his class has their sexuality listed. Especially the straight ones. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.251.97.132 (talk) 20:53, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

If he has identified his sexual orientation to The NY Times, and the Times has seen fit to print it, there is absolutely no reason to exclude it from this article. It is a basic fact of his identity, roughly equivalent to his age or place of birth. Of course, straight directors aren't identified as straight in their articles; Wikipedia exists in a culture where heterosexuality is assumed. When someone chooses to disrupt assumptions, let's be respectful of their decision to do so. Rivertorch (talk) 21:16, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

The fact that he is gay should be mentioned. It's a fact and pertinent to who he is. And he isn't shy about it as one might imagine from some of the comments above. Here's the NY Times from May 24:

Both brothers are gay, a realization that Mr. [Zal] Batmanglij said he found challenging and liberating: “You have to let go of the fantasy or the projection of your life and accept the life that you are living communally.” But, Mr. Batmanglij added: “It’s awesome to be part of a gay family. Right now, my brother and I can focus on our work, our creative work, and our parents can support that.”

Note that he can't be included in a LGBT category without the fact that he is gay being documented in the body of his entry, so it needs to be stated and include a citation. Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 21:42, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Exactly. One can give it different weights by placement, etc., to achieve some semblance of due weight, but our policies require sourcing for his self-identification, and that means you have to have it in the text. --j⚛e decker^talk 02:20, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Consensus here seems clear. I've gone ahead and restored mention as seen here. Thanks, all. Erik (talk | contribs) 23:12, 1 June 2013 (UTC)