BAFTA has decided it will not be creating gender-neutral categories to appease non-binary performers.
Unlike the BRIT Awards, BAFTA will continue to award performers in both male and female categories.
This means that actors and performers who may not identify as male or female will have to choose which category they wish to fall under if they wish to enter the running.
The move comes after two years of research and deliberation as more and more non-binary stars become household names around the globe.
Emma Corrin, Emma D’Arcy and Bella Ramsey are just three performers who’ve starred in some of the world’s biggest shows of late – such as The Crown, The Last of Us and House of the Dragon – and all three identify as non-binary.
According to Mail Online, BAFTA’s revised guidelines released last week state that it’s the responsibility of film producers to “confirm the gender/gender identity of each candidate for nomination”.
Bella Ramsey, the star of Game of Thrones, Time, and The Last of Us, identifies as non-binary
PA
“It is up to the entrant which category they enter into,” a source told the publication.
GB News has contacted BAFTA for comment.
The decision comes after BAFTA said that it was embroiled in “proactive and thoughtful consultation” over whether or not to introduce gender-neutral categories.
While the male and female categories will remain, there is some allowance that has been offered by BAFTA to performers who feel they don’t fall into either gendered category.
Emma D’Arcy (middle) is part of the star-studded House of the Dragon cast
PA
A spokesman said that instead of going by the term “actor” and “actress”, the certificate and mask could carry the term “performer” if that was preferred by the winner.
Corrin has been vocal against awards ceremonies deciding against gender-neutral categories before, telling the BBC’s Today Programme that they “hoped for a future in which that happens”.
“I don’t think the categories are inclusive enough at the moment. It’s about everyone being able to feel acknowledged and represented,” they said.
And BAFTA isn’t alone in facing fury for its decisions regarding gendered categories either as the Emmys faced a boycott from a non-binary star last year.
Liv Hewson is a performer who uses “they/them” pronouns and starred in the global hit Yellowjackets but refused to submit themselves for an Emmy Award last year due to the gendered acting categories.
“There’s not a place for me in the acting categories,” the Australian performer said to Variety.
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“It’s quite straightforward and not that loaded. I can’t submit myself for this because there’s no space for me,” Hewson added.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee-Curtis, whose daughter Ruby came out as transgender in 2020, similarly called for bosses to change the awards’ categories after she bagged the gong.
She said at the time: “Obviously I would like to see a lot more women be nominated so that there’s gender parity in all the areas and all the branches, and I think we’re getting there.
“We’re not anywhere near there. And of course, the inclusivity then that involves the bigger question, which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary choices, which is very difficult,” she told People.