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Bella Ramsey is opening up about their identity as a non-binary person — and sharing why they think gendered award categories are “very important.” In a recent interview with Louis Theroux for his podcast, The Last of Us star expressed the importance of keeping Best Actor and Actress awards separate to ensure that women are honored.
“I think the gendered categories conversation is a really interesting one, and I don’t have the answer,” the young actor said. “I wish that there was something that was an easy way around it. But I think that it is really important that we have a female category and a male category.”
The conversation spawned after Theroux brought up that Ramsey was nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2023 awards, even though they are non-binary. The actor said they “didn’t find it insulting” to be included in such a category. (Earlier in the conversation, Ramsey said they are not “strict” about their they/them pronouns: “I’m very comfortable in who I am. But I know it is important for other people.”)
“I think it’s so important that that’s preserved, as well,” they said about ensuring women get nominated for awards. “The recognition for women in the industry is preserved.”
Ramsey wondered on the podcast where non-binary people fell into the conversation, but wasn’t sure how the issue would allow for those not on the gender binary to be included in awards: “You could do it for the character portrayed. Like ‘best performance in a female character,’ but then what about when there are nonbinary characters on screen? Which is few and far between at the moment,” they said.
While Ramsey said they were OK with being included in an Actress category, the actor said they “have a guttural, ‘That’s not quite right,’ instinct [to it],” Ramsey said. “But I just don’t take it too seriously… it doesn’t feel like an attack on my identity.”
