(Toronto) The push for greater recognition of trans and non-binary talent on screen has led several awards shows to question how to recognize queer talent, with mixed results.
Posted at 12:28 a.m.
Voting began last week for the Emmy Awards, which last year saw the first openly transgender performer selected for the lead role, Mj Rodriguez, for her role in the drama series ‘Pose’. She is also the third transgender performer to be nominated for an Emmy, after Laverne Cox and Rain Valdez.
In Canada, the Toronto chapter of the actors’ union renamed some of its awards to be more inclusive, but critics claimed the categories were still mostly defined by binary terms.
In an industry that is finally starting to open up to underrepresented artists, challenges continue in mainstream productions, as well as the awards shows that honor them, says New Brunswick-born actress Tricia Black , known for the CBC comedy “Pretty Hard Cases.”
“We’re at a time when so many people can finally be who they really are and express themselves in so many different ways,” says Tracia Black, who uses the pronoun iel.
“It means we have to be more considerate of each other when it comes to how we are seen. But in the gaming world, it’s difficult, and it often leads you to ask yourself: “where do I fit in”? »
Last year’s Emmy Awards were the first to allow actors to request recognition with the gender-neutral title “performer” on their certificate of nomination and trophy. Also last year, the Gotham Awards eliminated the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, replacing them with primary and secondary categories.
Earlier this year in the music industry, the UK’s BRIT Awards also opted for more inclusive categories, while the Grammys scrapped all gendered categories in 2012.
In Canada, Toronto’s Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the largest branch of the Canadian Performing Artists Union, allows members to submit nominations based on the character’s gender or how an artist identifies himself personally. They include “outstanding performance – non-binary or feminine” and “outstanding performance – non-binary or masculine”. ACTRA said the category changes were made in consultation with the queer committee outACTRAto.
However, “Sort Of” TV series star Amanda Cordner, who was cast as the non-binary character 7ven, said the categories remained mostly binary despite the title change.
A beginning “
Having a category dedicated to “best performer” would have made more sense, Amanda Cordner suggested in an interview after the nominations were announced in January.
“It’s always man against woman, it’s always compliant,” Amanda Cordner said at the time. I guess that’s a step in the right direction, but I don’t know if we’re there yet. »
Jo Vannicola, the Montreal-born, Emmy-winning actor and writer who identifies as non-binary, is on ACTRA Toronto’s LGBTQ+ committee and calls ACTRA’s decision a “beginning.”
Jo Vannicola who heads outACTRAto hopes ACTRA will open more categories next year.
At this year’s Canadian Screen Awards, non-binary co-star Amanda Cordner and “Sort Of” co-creator Bilal Baig chose not to submit their performance for the awards due to “disappointing” binary acting categories. “Executive producer Jennifer Kawaja confirmed in an email to The Canadian Press.
Beth Janson, CEO of the Canadian Academy at the time, said “it’s something we want to work on.”
Jo Vannicola believes that people at the top need to be better informed on how to better represent more people.
Jo Vannicola has worked in the industry since she was eight years old and says her career in her 20s was marked by “an undercurrent of misogyny or homophobia and at this point I would say transphobia as well. »
The key to greater recognition, says Tricia Black, lies in change in all areas of the industry — from writing and setting to cast and crew. She says playing a quirky character who eschews stereotypes on “Pretty Hard Cases” has bonded with viewers. The best solution, according to Joe Vannicola and Tricia Black, is to create their own space.