Thursday, December 08, 2022
Oscars actor categories: Should they go genderless?
GoldDerby: The Gotham Awards present genderless acting categories. The Independent Spirit Awards now present genderless acting categories. Even the MTV Movie and TV Awards have gone genderless with their performance awards. Should the Oscars follow suit? Scroll down to vote in our poll at the bottom of this post.
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4 comments:
I always have and will believe that award ceremonies should have gender-less categories. I guess I just don’t see a reason to separate the categories… Perhaps I worry that one gender (male) may dominate the nominations if that were the case… However, these award shows, such as the Oscars, is focused on the art itself; the acting, the direction, etc… And if that is the case, if it is really about the art and performances, then the very best within those categories should be nominated, so does it matter if one gender were to dominate the categories – I’m not sure. I do know that I think the Oscars should be genderless, there are many artists that would not categorize themselves in either the female or male categories. How is one supposed to enjoy and celebrate their Oscar nomination if they have been misgendered in their nomination category? Other award shows have made it possible to be genderless, there is now not a reason for others to follow.
I think Oscars and all award shoes should probably go genderless. It’s definitely a good idea on paper, but I am not sure what it would like when implemented. Firstly, the art/craft of acting is not different for a woman or a man or a nonbinary person. It’s the same skill and there is no reason a woman’s acting couldn’t be compared to a man’s acting to determine who did it better. Maybe when the Oscar’s were first started and the roles on screen were much more two dimensional, there were more obvious differences and probably very few compelling roles for women. Regardless, now a days the roles for everyone can lend to award-winning performances. That said, my biggest concern would be the implicit bias in Hollywood. As the article pointed out, most best director winners are men and would we see that happen to the best actor category. Maybe we would see a unofficial rule that the winners alternate between male and female to avoid the preconception of bias but that would still limit wins for nonbinary actors. If Hollywood is at a point where truly the best actor wins, then I think this a great idea but lets work on those biases before we commit to performative acts of inclusivity.
I one hundred percent think that the oscars and other award shows should go genderless. I think that the current model really puts non binary actors in a tough spot. either they could be unsure about coming out because it might take away their chances of becoming an award winner, or it means that if they win that lifetime achievement it might be in boxing them back into a gender that they no longer feel comfortable in. and it would be happening on live television and in front of everyone who is anyone in the industry. talk about uncomfortable. the article has one good point about the counter argument though. I've never thought about what going genderless could mean in terms of making sure there is diversity and representation on every award night. like if we take away the specified space for women to receive awards how do we make sure that they still will. its an interesting conundrum and will definitely not be solved anytime soon, but I am very interested to see what the solution is because there is no way they don't change something eventually.
This comes across as a double-edged sword. While genderless categories appears more inclusive on several levels, my fear, and what the article addresses, is that this could lead to more marginalization. Sadly, Hollywood is still dominated by men and men are far more revered. Even looking at the categories that are currently genderless -- Best Director, for example -- is highly dominated by white men nominees and winners. By making the acting categories genderless, it's highly likely that the nominees will feature mainly white men. The biggest problem with the Oscars going genderless is that the Academy and those who are able to vote are predominantly white men.
I'm an advocate for diversity and inclusion, but I'm also just so wary of changes being made without considering the full consequences. Perhaps what should be done is the whole awards ceremony needs to be dismantled and restructured. Trying to turn something that already exists into an inclusive and equitable space when it wasn't originally intended to be so is bound to be rife with problems. We can argue all we want that only those most deserving of artistic recognition will be nominated and it'll be fair, but humans are unconsciously biased. I don't know. Gendered categories need to be eliminated, but the solution is so much more complicated than just having one broader, genderless category.
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