Emmys TV Academy to Allow Acting Nominees to Opt for Non-Gendered Description

For quite a long time now, many Emmys TV nominees have been asking for the academy to eliminate gendered acting categories in recognition of wider spectrum of genders beyond males and females.

Today, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have stated that beginning with this year’s Emmy’s TV awards ceremony, it will allow allow acting nominees to simply be recognized as a “performer” rather than an “actor” or “actress”.

The categories themselves will not be changing titles, but the candidates for these nominees will be allowed to be called performers for more acceptability and a non-gendered description.

“No performer category titled ‘Actor’ or ‘Actress’ has ever had a gender requirement for submissions,” the Academy said in a statement, somewhat confusingly. “Now, nominees and (or) winners in any performer category titled ‘Actor’ or ‘Actress’ may request that their nomination certificate and Emmy statuette carry the term ‘Performer’ in place of Actor or Actress.”

Furthermore, the TV Academy have stated that any film that is entered in the Best Documentary Feature or the Best Documentary Short in the Oscars will not be eligible for Emmys consideration. Their statement reads “Any film placed on the AMPAS viewing platform will be deemed a theatrical motion picture and thus ineligible for the Emmy competition.”