Karla Sofía Gascón in 'Emilia Pérez' looking straight into the camera
(Netflix)

Karla Sofía Gascón becomes the first openly trans person nominated for acting Oscar

Karla Sofía Gascón is making history during a time of turmoil for transgender and non-binary people, becoming the first openly trans person to be nominated for an acting Oscar.

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The past few days have been heartbreaking and terrifying for trans people in America. After convicted felon Donald Trump took office on January 20, he signed an order declaring there to be only two genders that cannot be changed. But, the success of the movie Emilia Pérez and lead trans actress Gascón proves there is still a desire to honor trans people and their stories.

Gascón’s nomination is all the more welcome when you consider that Oscar-winning movies have told trans stories before, but assigned cisgender actors to play the roles of trans people. Such is the case with Boys Don’t Cry’s Hillary Swank, Dallas Buyers Club’s Jared Leto, and The Danish Girl’s Eddie Redmayne. It’s a trend that many trans people have longed to see come to an end. Hopefully, Gascón’s being recognized for her work will make things start to head that way.

Although Emilia Pérez has proved controversial with Mexicans and the LGBTQ+ community in many ways, there’s no denying its impact. It’s broken the record for Oscar nominations for a foreign language film, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jacques Audiard), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Gascón has already become the first trans person to win (along with her female co-stars) the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, and she’s currently the first trans woman to be nominated in an acting category at the Golden Globes and at the film BAFTAS.

Gascón will be competing against Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Mikey Madison (Anora), Demi Moore (The Substance) and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) when the Oscars air on March 3. Gascón’s Emilia Pérez co-star Zoe Saldaña is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Gascón has spoken before about the importance of Emilia Pérez and how it is a movie for these difficult times. “I think this film is going to make history in many different senses,” she told Attitude magazine last year. “I think this film can change humanity. And normalize many different things that at the moment are hidden or marginalized. Those parts of society that are currently denigrated or not respected in the way they should be. Because, at the end of the day, we’re all human, and all deserve to be treated the same.”


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