Emmys 2021: Non-binary performers call for end to gendered performance categories

Actor Asia Kate Dillion, who identifies as non-binary, is one of many voices questioning the decision to keep dividing awards by gender

Non-binary performers are questioning why the Emmy Awards are divided by gender.

Billions star Asia Kate Dillon, who identifies as non-binary, has raised concerns about the presented “male or female” options in award ceremonies when they consider themselves to be “neither of those things”.

“When pitted against each other in the context of an awards show, they only mean male or female, or man or woman,” Dillon said, in an interview with non-profit media organisation National Public Radio. “When presented with those options, I am neither of those things.”

In Billions, the 36-year-old plays the role of Taylor Mason, a non-binary character.

Dillon has been calling out award shows to end gendered categories for several years, and presented the first gender-neutral award for Best Actor in a movie for the MTV Movie & TV Awards, which eliminated gender-based categories in 2017.

Last month, Dillon asked the Television Academy, which organises the Emmys, to clarify its gender distinctions.

“The Television Academy celebrates inclusiveness, and as we discussed with Asia, there is no gender requirement for the various performer categories. Asia is free to choose the category they wish to enter,” said the Academy, in its response.

The Emmys are far from the only awards show to still retain the binary gendered acting categories, a format which is still favoured by the Academy Awards.

This year, star MJ Rodriguez became the first transgender actor to earn an Emmy nomination in a major acting category.

The actor has been nominated for her role as Blanca Rodriguez in FX drama Pose in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category, ahead of the 2021 ceremony.

Only two trans actors have previously been nominated for Emmys: Laverne Cox for Guest Actress in a Drama for Orange is the New Black in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2020, and Rain Valdez for Actress in Short-Form Comedy or Drama for Razor Tongue last year.

Rodriguez’s nomination is the first for a trans actor in a lead role in a major genre category.