Gender ideology leaves women the big losers at the Gotham Awards
Women lost big at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City last week, where gender ideology resulted in a total shutout of lead and supporting actresses.
The Gotham Awards is an annual awards ceremony for independent films. In 2021, it intensified its adoption of gender ideology and nixed male and female categories in favor of gender-neutral ones. This was done to accommodate those who identify as “non-binary,” which means neither male nor female. An estimated 0.06% of Hollywood actors are known to identify as “non-binary,” compared to 3% of the general population.
As a result, male performers took home all the lead and supporting actor prizes at the ceremony on December 2nd. Nominated actresses like Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste ended the night empty-handed, according to Breitbart.
Other film industry awards shows that have eliminated male and female categories include the MTV Movie & TV Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Berlin Film Festival. The Brit Awards, a gender-neutral British music awards ceremony, drew outrage last year after all nominations for best artist went to men.
Do women support gender neutrality in film?
The film industry continues to remove male and female categories despite surveys showing that 80% of viewers oppose the move. However, women are among the biggest supporters of gender neutrality in film.
In March, journalist Emma Specter wrote an article in Vanity Fair fuming about how awards shows in 2024 still have male and female categories. She cited Andria Wilson Mirza of the nonprofit organization Women in Film, which has complained that too few women win film awards.
“In television, when you’re looking at the gender identity of who’s hired in key roles across production and above and below the line, there is such a small representation of nonbinary people and trans people of all genders, and a large reason for that is because of the systemic barriers that exist in the industry,” said Mirza. “For someone to get to the point in their career where their work is being recognized by their peers at a very high level, and then, as a nonbinary person, being told ‘Well, there isn’t really a place for you here,’ it just breaks my heart.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Oscars, has been mulling the idea of going gender-neutral but has remained hesitant. The organization does, however, enforce strict “diversity” quotas that must be fulfilled for Oscar eligibility.
