Jamie Lee Curtis calls for degendering awards at Oscars as a 'mother of a trans daughter'

Oscars 2023 was a historic event with several actors winning their first Academy award and discussing several social welfare issues. Among these is the topic of degendering the awards category for the inclusion of people from the LGBTQIAP+ community. There is an ongoing debate in the Hollywood industry about gender-neutral acting prizes and the opinions differ. Separate acting categories for men and women were eliminated by the Gotham Awards in 2021, which recognizes independent films. Similarly, last year, the Brit Awards combined their categories for the best male and female artist of the year into a gender-neutral top prize. However, this year the awards faced criticism for not nominating any women for the award, per New York Times. Among the supporters of the degendering of awards is Jamie Lee Curtis, who won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress this year for her role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once," per People.

Curtis told reporters after winning the honor, "Obviously, I would like to see a lot more women be nominated so that there's gender parity in all the areas and all the branches, and I think we're getting there. We're not anywhere near there. And of course, the inclusivity then involves the bigger question, which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary choices, which is very difficult." Her support for the queer and trans community comes from having first-hand witnessed their experiences through her daughter, Ruby Guest.

In 2020, Guest came out as trans and received the complete support of her family. Last year, Curtis even officiated Ruby's wedding to Kynthia, her partner. Curtis has been a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and advocates for the removal of gender-based categories in awards. The 64-year-old actor told the media in the press room at the 95th Academy Awards, "As the mother of a trans daughter I completely understand that. And yet, to de-gender the category, also, I'm concerned [that] will diminish the opportunities for more women, which is something I also have been working hard to try to promote. So it's a complicated question, but I think the most important thing is inclusivity and more women."

She added that she wants to see, "more women anywhere, everywhere and all at once." During her acceptance speech earlier in the ceremony, Curtis mentioned that both of her parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, had been nominated for Academy Awards in the past. She said, "My mother and my father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories. I just won an Oscar!" When reporters asked Curtis if she believed that her parents were watching over her on the night of the Oscars, she stated that she does not believe in a world where people are looking down from above.

She added, "I think we are them in our actions and in our deeds and in our ideas. And then we build our own. We give them to our children and that's how the world goes on. So I am a product of them. And I am a proud product of them. And I know that they will be incredibly proud of me." Curtis called this Oscar win "the thrill of my life," while concluding the post-ceremony interview.