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Emmys Lets Actors and Actresses Opt for Gender-Neutral ‘Performer’ Moniker

The Television Academy is carrying over its nomination practice to winners’ trophies.

Emmy nominees can now opt for a “performer” label on their nomination certificate or winner’s trophy, the Television Academy announced Monday. The change is akin to their policies for submissions, which has never required actors to identify as either an “actor” or “actress.” It comes as Hollywood redefines how gender is incorporated into award shows. Last year, Billions actor Kate Dillon, who is nonbinary, wrote an open letter to Screen Actors Guild leadership asking them to remove gender-specific categories from their awards show. “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,” she wrote.

The Primetime Emmy Awards will reveal its nominees on July 13. It is unclear whether any actors have opted for the “performer” moniker for this year’s submissions.