Backstage recently added a way to properly identify transgender actors (like myself) and roles in their breakdowns. Thanks, Backstage!
Changes like this are making it possible for transgender actors to be more visible and send out a more inviting message to young transgender actors who may previously have felt discouraged from pursuing their dreams. As a result, our business is going to hopefully see more of us in audition rooms and on stages. Change can be intimidating, so I would like to share some basic knowledge so that you feel empowered when you bring transgender actors into the mix.
Here are five words to use, and five words to avoid when speaking to or about transgender actors.
Words to use:
1. Transgender (adj.):
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. May include people who identify as trans men, trans women, genderqueer, agender, gender non-conforming, transsexual, bigender, and pangender.
*Transgender identity is not dependent on surgical status or hormone use. Many trans people seek medical procedures to affirm their gender, but many do not. These decisions do not make a
Leave a Reply