Oscars nominated their first openly trans performer. What would her win mean? | Opinion
Hattie McDaniel's best supporting actress victory for 'Gone With the Wind' was greeted with a similar range of controversy, debate and condemnation.
With the announcement of the 97th Academy Awards nominations, one selection has proved to be the most historic – and controversial. Celebrated for her work in “Emilia Pérez,” Karla Sofia Gascón became the first openly transgender performer nominated for best actress.
The nomination represents a breakthrough for trans stories at the Academy Awards.
“Today, it is proven that art does not understand hate," Gascón told The Hollywood Reporter. "No one can question my work, even less the fact that I am an actress. An actress who deserves to be recognized solely and exclusively for her sublime performance.”
Yet, the film has also faced a wave of backlash, with GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, calling the film a “profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and “a step backward for trans representation.” Critics argue that the film relies on trans stereotypes, neglecting meaningful character development and the deeper motivations for Gascón’s titular Pérez.
Few of these criticisms have been lobbied at Gascón herself. Rather, the concerns have been over her part and the role she was asked to play for the production. This centers on a critical debate: At the Oscars, are we celebrating the part or the person?
This is not a new conversation but the latest chapter in a long history of breaking barriers at the Academy Awards.
What it means to be 'first'
In 1940, Hattie McDaniel’s best supporting actress victory for “Gone With the Wind” was greeted with a similar range of controversy, debate and condemnation. The film, lauded for its epic scope but criticized for romanticizing the South and its portrayal of slavery, featured McDaniel as "Mammy," Scarlett O'Hara's enslaved servant.
Despite the role's racist stereotypes, many Black writers of the time praised McDaniel's emotional depth in the performance. Yet, a vocal contingent also feared the award could gloss over the realities of the Jim Crow South and continue to perpetuate stereotypes.
Lillian Johnson, a columnist for the Afro-American newspaper, denounced the victory and said, “Miss McDaniel has won next to the highest award that the motion picture industry can grant, it is of no importance that she was such a good Mammy that she is now 1939’s finest actress.”
Johnson particularly focused on how the win was described as an act of tolerance in many mainstream newspapers.
For the columnist, the moment wasn’t about who won the award but what they were winning for. “It is one thing to contend for a right and win it when only the right is at stake,” she said, noting the award’s significance to her community.
Ultimately, as Johnson feared, McDaniel’s “first” failed to translate into broader reform. In 1947, James Baskett became the second Black Oscar winner, receiving an honorary award for Disney’s “Song of the South,” another film criticized for emboldening racist tropes.
Trans representation at the Oscars
Gascón’s nomination should also be contextualized within the legacy of trans depictions at the ceremony. Nine cisgender actors have been nominated for playing transgender characters, including Chris Sarandon in “Dog Day Afternoon” from 1975; Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry” from 1999; Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” from 2013; and, most recently, Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl” from 2015. Swank and Leto both took home Oscars.
Jaye Davidson’s nomination for best supporting actor in 1993 for “The Crying Game” was perhaps the most contentious. Davison’s character “passes” as female for most of the movie until a notorious full-frontal nude reveal, described as the film’s shocking twist.
“The Crying Game” was Davidson’s first movie performance, and his status as an unknown further perpetuated speculation about his identity. Writers asked whether Davidson would “dress in drag” when he attended the ceremony.
Throughout the award season, much of the discourse misconstrued being gay and effeminate as identical to being trans. During the Oscar ceremony, presenter Mercedes Ruehl joked: “In this year of women in film, I am here to present an award for a category in which women have traditionally found it difficult to gain a toehold ‒ best supporting actor.”
Even when giving nuanced performances, trans portrayals were pushed for shock value and greeted as comedic.
In this respect, there has been consistent progress. More recent nominations from films like “Dallas Buyers Club” and “The Danish Girl,” both directed by cisgender men, have focused on more sympathetic portrayals of the trans experience. Yet, there have been growing calls for more opportunities to allow transgender actors to perform their own experiences on screen.
The issue extends to behind the camera, begging the question: What if people from within these communities could just tell their own stories?
'Emilia Pérez' and representation today
Gascón’s nomination comes 10 years since #OscarsSoWhite called attention to the legacy of racial exclusion at the ceremony. The movement's principles have also been applied to discussions about gender, women behind the camera and opportunities for trans and nonbinary performers.
In the lead actress category, there have been several significant firsts, including Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), the first Asian woman to win best actress, and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), the first Indigenous American woman to receive a nomination.
For her part, this year Gascón has urged Oscar voters to focus solely on the merit of her performance rather than its historic nature. Yet, her nomination also places her at the forefront of a long history of trans portrayals at the Oscars and a controversy about “Emilia Pérez” itself.
Simply put, it cannot be viewed alone. Though these are not new conversations, as we see more representation at the ceremony, questions remain about the roles offered to performers and a desire for the next wave of Hollywood introspection.
It remains to be seen whether Gascón and “Emilia Pérez” will be triumphant at the ceremony, but what would it mean?
Monica R. Sandler is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Media at Ball State University. Her research examines the history of the Academy Awards and the movie awards season. This column originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star.