A fact from Cathie Dunsford appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 12 October 2022 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that Cathie Dunsford(pictured) was unable to find many books about lesbianism in the 1970s, but by the 1980s had herself become a writer and anthologist of lesbian literature?
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Latest comment: 2 years ago3 comments2 people in discussion
I said I'd explain this diff on the article's talk page, so here I am. Dunsford has gotten in touch with me, via a mutual acquaintance, and advised that the page was "not accurate re whakapapa"; her iwi is Te Rarawa not Ngāpuhi. The slightly awkward thing is that her writer profile on Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, itself sourced from the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, says her iwi is Ngāpuhi; these are both generally very reliable sources. I have found a couple of sources showing her iwi as Te Rarawa (both I think self-published author bios that would have been sourced from Dunsford herself), so I've edited the article and referred to those sources. I have also suggested that Dunsford contact Read NZ Te Pou Muramura and ask them to correct her entry.
Obviously, when a reliable secondary source says one thing and the subject of the article says another, we would usually go with the former. But I feel the criteria in WP:BLPSELFPUB are met; there can be no reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of Dunsford knowing her own whakapapa and I'd feel uncomfortable suggesting otherwise. There may be however alternative/better ways to handle this, hence I thought I'd post on the talk page and see if anyone else takes a different view. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 05:46, 8 September 2022 (UTC)Reply
Just randomly landed here and wanted to say that while I can't point to a guideline for that atm, I agree with your judgement: A person would probably know about her own heritage best, and it is much more likely to expect an error with that in secondary sources. The only case I think this would not apply that I can think of would be if the subject had an incentive to lie about it – maybe a spy or similar, or someone evading a crime? None of these apply here, and I see no reason why her own statements should be doubted, especially with an overall "minor" change as this (I mean, she's not suddenly claiming to be Sino-Swedish or the like).
Thanks heaps, really appreciate your thoughtful comments. :) I will definitely nominate for DYK, just need to think of a good hook! Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 01:33, 9 September 2022 (UTC)Reply
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