The subject of gendered acting awards has been given a lot of attention in recent years, with many prestigious awards ceremonies doing away with them completely. Rather than splitting up the acting awards by Best Actor and Best Actress, certain shows have been blending them into a single category, thus allowing non-binary performers a chance to feel welcome without having to choose a gender for their category. But while these changes have been implemented in various shows, the Primetime Emmy Awards still currently recognizes Actors and Actresses for the acting awards, and that’s expected to be maintained this year.

Because of this, don’t expect to see Liv Hewson up for any Emmys, despite the acclaim they have garnered with their performance in the hit Showtime series Yellowjackets. Addressing the Emmys in a new chat with Variety, Hewson explains that they wouldn’t feel right competing for either Best Actor or Best Actress, so to avoid an uncomfortable nomination, they have decided to bench themselves from consideration completely. As Hewson explains:
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“There’s not a place for me in the acting categories. It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys. It’s quite straightforward and not that loaded. I can’t submit myself for this because there’s no space for me.”

There has been a certain degree of pushback from the campaign to end gendered acting awards. One concern some have is that by blending the categories together, there’s a chance that cisgender white men might benefit the most, leaving female nominees out in the cold. But Hewson believes that accepting that would be an admission of defeat, and that’s why they believe it’s important to maintain course. Until changes are made, however, Hewson will be sitting out the awards show.

“There is an implied fatalism there, which suggests that we’ve all agreed that equality is impossible. And that’s sad. We’re not going to start awarding best female and male director, or female or male cinematographer. Because we all understand that implicitly would be insulting. You can keep things as they are right now — I just won’t be participating.”

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Gendered Awards Have Come Under Scrutiny

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Hewson is one of many performers to address this topic with varying opinions offered. Jamie Lee Curtis, who recently won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, says she’s given her Best Supporting Actress award gender-neutral pronouns as a way of supporting her trans daughter. With that said, Curtis doesn’t want the gendered acting awards to go away completely, as she doesn’t want to “diminish the opportunities for women” to be recognized.

“The inclusivity involves the bigger question, which is how do you include everyone,” JLC said on The Today Show. “As the mother of a trans daughter, I understand that. But to de-gender the category I’m concerned will diminish the opportunities for more women. The most important thing is inclusivity and more women.”

Others agree with Hewson that the time has come to get rid of the gendered awards. The Crown star Emma Corrin previously won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress at the Emmys, but at this point, they wouldn’t feel comfortable with another nomination until the categories are no longer gendered.

“I hope for a future in which that happens,” they said, via BBC News. “I don’t think the categories are inclusive enough at the moment. It’s about everyone being able to feel acknowledged and represented. It’s difficult for me at the moment trying to justify in my head being non-binary and being nominated in female categories.”