Gothams Awards has announced plans to eliminate the gendered acting categories.
Gatekeepers News reports that the annual New York ceremony for best achievement in independent film – the Gotham Awards has announced plans to shift to acting categories that aren’t defined by gender.
The Gotham Film & Media Institute has, therefore, become the latest film honour to eliminate gendered acting categories.
The Institute said they will do away with the best actor and best actress categories and replace them with “outstanding lead performance” and “outstanding supporting performance.”
The Executive Director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute, Jeffrey Sharp said in a statement, “The Gotham Awards have a 30-year history of celebrating diverse voices in independent storytelling.
“We are proud to recognize outstanding acting achievements each year and look forward to a new model of honoring performances without binary divisions of gender.
“We are grateful to those who helped to start this conversation in recent years and we are thrilled that the Gotham Awards will continue to support artistic excellence in a more inclusive and equitable way.”
This development has, therefore, challenged award shows like the Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys that have stuck with the traditional male and female designated categories.
In March, the Berlin Film Festival handed out its first non-gendered awards. Similarly, the Grammy Awards ceased separating male and female artists in 2012.
