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Friday, February 03, 2023
Actors' Equity Releases Statement Condemning Attacks on Transgender People and Drag Performances
www.broadwayworld.com: Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has issued a statement regarding the growing number of attacks on transgender people, often framed as attacks on drag performance.
2 comments:
Jackson Underwood
said...
Trans people have always had to endure attacks solely for existing. While this is nothing new, there have been several attacks lately on a legislative level that are targeted at trans people in an effort to strip them of their rights and deny them the right of existence. One way they do this is by referring to them as drag performances, as if their life is a performance. What people don’t understand is that living life as a trans person is the opposite of a performance. Pretending to live comfortably as a gender you were assigned feels like more of a performance. I think the Actors’ Equity Association put it perfectly: “The purposeful conflation of drag performance and transgender life is the latest tactic in a sickening campaign to delegitimize and dehumanize transgender people.” I think it is really wonderful that the Actors’ Equity Association released this statement, but I also hope they are doing more work than just releasing statements to protect their trans members.
To acknowledge wrongdoing is the first step to right wrongs. Trans people deserve to live. Deserve to express themselves. The history of Drag performance is one with rich history in political dissatisfaction and an artistic form of protest to societal expectations and governmental mandates that target the Queer community. While I am grateful to be in a time that Actors Equity vocally and writtenly supports the notion that Trans people do not deserve to be attacked for their art. I will not lie and say that that is enough. Actors Equity is a union that is built to protect performers (and stage managers). Trans performers are facing real threats to their wellbeing. Not just financial wellbeing but physical wellbeing. I hope that Actor’s Equity make more direct contributions to legislative measures to safeguard trans performers. I also do think this is ideal time for the Actor’s Equity to negotiate more directly with producers and discuss action plans to implement equity measures to protect and respect trans actors in the industry. Measures such as DEI training that is more conscious to trans performers. As well as real penalties to shows that are found making a hostile environment for trans people.
2 comments:
Trans people have always had to endure attacks solely for existing. While this is nothing new, there have been several attacks lately on a legislative level that are targeted at trans people in an effort to strip them of their rights and deny them the right of existence. One way they do this is by referring to them as drag performances, as if their life is a performance. What people don’t understand is that living life as a trans person is the opposite of a performance. Pretending to live comfortably as a gender you were assigned feels like more of a performance. I think the Actors’ Equity Association put it perfectly: “The purposeful conflation of drag performance and transgender life is the latest tactic in a sickening campaign to delegitimize and dehumanize transgender people.” I think it is really wonderful that the Actors’ Equity Association released this statement, but I also hope they are doing more work than just releasing statements to protect their trans members.
To acknowledge wrongdoing is the first step to right wrongs. Trans people deserve to live. Deserve to express themselves. The history of Drag performance is one with rich history in political dissatisfaction and an artistic form of protest to societal expectations and governmental mandates that target the Queer community. While I am grateful to be in a time that Actors Equity vocally and writtenly supports the notion that Trans people do not deserve to be attacked for their art. I will not lie and say that that is enough. Actors Equity is a union that is built to protect performers (and stage managers). Trans performers are facing real threats to their wellbeing. Not just financial wellbeing but physical wellbeing. I hope that Actor’s Equity make more direct contributions to legislative measures to safeguard trans performers. I also do think this is ideal time for the Actor’s Equity to negotiate more directly with producers and discuss action plans to implement equity measures to protect and respect trans actors in the industry. Measures such as DEI training that is more conscious to trans performers. As well as real penalties to shows that are found making a hostile environment for trans people.
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