Los Angeles: In a major step forward, the Television Academy's Board of Governors on Monday announced that it has approved a gender-neutral option for nominees and winners, which will go into effect this year.
According to a report by Ace Show Biz, the confirmed nominees in the Best Actress or Best Actor honours can choose to be called a "performer" rather than an actor or an actress when the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards take place in September this year.
In a statement on it's website, the governors said that no performer category titled 'Actor' or 'Actress' has ever had a gender requirement for submissions. But 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.
The decision comes into effect after a years-long debate over how to accommodate gender-neutral performers at awards ceremonies.
Actor Asia Kate Dillon, who is non-binary, in 2017 had asked the TV Academy to clarify its gender distinctions.
2017 saw the actor pen an impassioned letter to the Academy highlighting their concern that there seemed to be "no room for (their) identity" at the awards ceremony.
In other Emmys news, the rules for eligibility of documentary films have changed, and will keep out films that had also been eligible for Oscar consideration.
The 2021 Emmy Awards will announce nominees on July 13.