Why the Emmys should eliminate gender-specific acting categories

Variety

The Television Critics Association does it with its awards. So does the MTV Movie & TV Awards. Why can't the Emmys? "As TV and storytelling continue to evolve, does it still make sense to silo male and female performers into separate Emmy categories?" asks Michael Schneider. "Splitting up 'outstanding actor' and 'outstanding actress' awards as if they’re different skill sets seems like an outdated practice — yet combining them, and eliminating half of the key acting Emmys in the process, would likely be a nonstarter in a business hungry for more, rather than fewer, accolades." He adds: "Great acting is great acting, regardless of gender. It’s taken a long time, but TV is now offering juicy, big lead roles for women — perhaps making the need to distinguish male roles from female roles on awards shows a bit obsolete." Also, says Schneider, "merging the categories also seems appropriate in a world finally accepting the notion that gender itself can be a fluid construct." As he points out, Billions star Asia Kate Dillon, the first gender nonbinary performer to play a nonbinary character on a major TV show, asked the TV Academy to clarify its gender distinctions two years ago.