Dillon, the first gender nonbinary performer to play a nonbinary character on a major TV show, sent an open letter to the SAG Awards committee members explaining why gender-specific categories should be dropped. "In late 2016, I publicly came out as non-binary, meaning I’m not male or female, or man or woman," Dillon wrote. "I use they, them, their pronouns. If you google my name and 'acting award categories,' you will find I have been calling for an end to segregated acting categories. Separating people based on their assigned sex, and/or their gender identity, is not only irrelevant when it comes to how an acting performance should be judged, it is also a form of discrimination. Not only do your current categories erase non-binary identities by limiting performers to identifying as male or female / man or womxn ( which not all SAG members, like myself, do), they also serve as an endorsement of the gender binary at large, which actively upholds other forms of discrimination, including racism, the patriarchy, and gender violence."
TOPICS: Asia Kate Dillon, SAG Awards, Award Shows, LGBTQ