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Friday, February 17, 2023
Emma Corrin Is Interested in Male Characters as a Nonbinary Actor
The Hollywood Reporter: Emma Corrin says the backlash to announcing their gender identity was “quite a reality check” and is expressing openness to taking on male roles amid a lack of nonbinary characters in Hollywood.
3 comments:
Carly Tamborello
said...
Good for them! I agree that there really is still a conspicuous lack of nonbinary characters in mainstream media. I can think of a handful, and even a couple in children’s shows, but far more in books than in movies or TV. I feel like even gay characters or other non-heterosexual characters have become more of the norm, with usually at least one in every big modern hit, but I think producers tend to think of having one non-cishet character as having met their “LGBT quota,” and usually representation for different gender identities is what gets left out. Other times, trans or nonbinary characters are included but treated horribly or not really accepted, like Max in The L Word. It would be great to see nonbinary characters appear frequently, rather than having a token character every once in a while. It’s ironic that producers are wary of having these characters, thinking that it would be bad for ratings, when actually young LGBT people are starved for representation and quality nonbinary representation would probably help their ratings to soar.
Being nonbinary myself, it makes me so happy to see more nonbinary personalities in mainstream media. I understand how Corrin feels in this situation. It seems like we’re in a time where an actor coming out as nonbinary wouldn't be such a big deal, but there still seems to be tons of backlash. The world isn’t as accepting as it seems, people have just learned to only say their true opinions from behind a screen. There is definitely a lack of roles for nonbinary people in, and when they do get cast, they’re usually asked to play the gender they were assigned at birth. I think it’s wonderful that Corrin wants to play male roles. I really love the way they described their gender experience: “being nonbinary for me is a very fluid space where it’s not a rejection of femininity or masculinity, it’s sort of an embrace of both.”
I find this article to overall be really uncalled for, because at the end of the day, the actor is completely right. There are not a lot of opportunities for non-binary actors, not without sacrificing their non-binary identity to fulfill a cis role. There is no reason non-binary people should not be able to play cis-gendered roles regardless of their outward appearance; presentation is one of the biggest issues surrounding gender today, regardless of whether transgender people are included in that conversation, and by not allowing non-passing non-binary people to play roles, we are only enforcing the gender binary and societal standards for transgender validity. You see it all the time as a transgender person, and it sucks that the only way society sees you as yourself, as real, is if you give into perpetuating the gender binary to fit in in some way, and it is so frustrating. Overall, non-binary people should be able to play whatever roles they would like regardless of their outward appearance; especially considering that at the end of the day, the director can simply alter your outward appearance to fit their vision.
3 comments:
Good for them! I agree that there really is still a conspicuous lack of nonbinary characters in mainstream media. I can think of a handful, and even a couple in children’s shows, but far more in books than in movies or TV. I feel like even gay characters or other non-heterosexual characters have become more of the norm, with usually at least one in every big modern hit, but I think producers tend to think of having one non-cishet character as having met their “LGBT quota,” and usually representation for different gender identities is what gets left out. Other times, trans or nonbinary characters are included but treated horribly or not really accepted, like Max in The L Word. It would be great to see nonbinary characters appear frequently, rather than having a token character every once in a while. It’s ironic that producers are wary of having these characters, thinking that it would be bad for ratings, when actually young LGBT people are starved for representation and quality nonbinary representation would probably help their ratings to soar.
Being nonbinary myself, it makes me so happy to see more nonbinary personalities in mainstream media. I understand how Corrin feels in this situation. It seems like we’re in a time where an actor coming out as nonbinary wouldn't be such a big deal, but there still seems to be tons of backlash. The world isn’t as accepting as it seems, people have just learned to only say their true opinions from behind a screen. There is definitely a lack of roles for nonbinary people in, and when they do get cast, they’re usually asked to play the gender they were assigned at birth. I think it’s wonderful that Corrin wants to play male roles. I really love the way they described their gender experience: “being nonbinary for me is a very fluid space where it’s not a rejection of femininity or masculinity, it’s sort of an embrace of both.”
I find this article to overall be really uncalled for, because at the end of the day, the actor is completely right. There are not a lot of opportunities for non-binary actors, not without sacrificing their non-binary identity to fulfill a cis role. There is no reason non-binary people should not be able to play cis-gendered roles regardless of their outward appearance; presentation is one of the biggest issues surrounding gender today, regardless of whether transgender people are included in that conversation, and by not allowing non-passing non-binary people to play roles, we are only enforcing the gender binary and societal standards for transgender validity. You see it all the time as a transgender person, and it sucks that the only way society sees you as yourself, as real, is if you give into perpetuating the gender binary to fit in in some way, and it is so frustrating. Overall, non-binary people should be able to play whatever roles they would like regardless of their outward appearance; especially considering that at the end of the day, the director can simply alter your outward appearance to fit their vision.
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