'Yellowjackets' Star not Submitting to Emmys; Gendered Categories Leave 'No Place for Me'

"Yellowjackets" star Liv Hewson, an Australian actor and playwright who identifies as nonbinary, says they're not going to submit their work for Emmys consideration because the awards are gendered, UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported.

The Showtime series won seven Emmys last year, but the actor, who portrays Vanessa Palmer, told Variety that the gendering of the awards categories – which recognize male and female performers – shut them out by their very nature.

"There's not a place for me in the acting categories," Hewson contended.

"The 27-year-old performer, who came out as nonbinary at age 16, went on to explain that 'it would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress' or 'be lumped in with the boys,'" the Mail relayed.

"It's quite straightforward and not that loaded," Hewson reiterated to the entertainment outlet. "I can't submit myself for this because there's no space for me" as a nonbinary actor.

"The dilemma puts nonbinary actors in a place where they must make an uncomfortable choice," Variety explained, noting that "J. Harrison Ghee, a nonbinary actor on Fox's anthology crime series 'Accused,' will submit themselves for lead actor in a limited series Emmy consideration."

The debate has been going on for years. Variety recalled that "In 2017, 'Billions' star Asia Kate Dillon, the first nonbinary performer to play a nonbinary character on a major TV show, asked the TV Academy to clarify its gender classifications.

"Other actors who identify as nonbinary also have weighed in, such as Emma D'Arcy, who submitted for lead drama actress for 'House of the Dragon' this year, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins, the first nonbinary actor recognized for supporting comedy actor (for 'Hacks' in 2021)," Variety added.

Some awards have done away with gendered categories, such as the Independent Spirit Awards, Variety noted. The Grammys were also an early adopter of gender-free categories.

Hewson pointed to other awards categories that do not have separate recognition based on gender.

"We're not going to start awarding best female and male director, or female or male cinematographer," the actor noted. "Because we all understand that implicitly would be insulting."

"You can keep things as they are right now," Hewson went on to say. "I just won't be participating."