The Mtv Movie Awards will no longer feature gender-specific categories. This means there will be no separate categories for Actors And Actresses, and they will all be competing in the same category. This move is part of a larger shake-up of the awards ceremony, which will now also feature TV shows as well as movies. This year, the awards will be held on May 7, 2017.
Away with best actor and best actress categories
This decision comes at a time when there is significant discussion whether separate categories for actors and actresses are really necessary.
For example, Asia Kate Dillon, who is a non-binary actor, was recently asked by the Emmy Awards organizers which category they should include her in. This week, Dillon responded in an open letter, saying: "I’d like to know if in your eyes ‘actor’ and ‘actress’ denote anatomy or identity and why it is necessary to denote either in the first place?" In the end, Dillon opted for "actor." Other awards ceremonies, such as the Oscars and BAFTA's, still have separate categories for Men And Women. The Grammy awards have recently become gender-neutral, and now have categories such as best pop vocal performance.
In an interview with the New York Magazine, MTV president Chris McCarthy said: "This audience actually doesn’t see male-female dividing lines, so we said, ‘Let’s take that down.’" Some women's rights activists see these decisions as doing more harm than good.
Melissa Silverstein, who is the founder of website Women and Hollywood, warned that this could make a bad impact on female nominees, as women are already severely underrepresented in many categories. She notes that only 20% of women were nominated in the non-acting Oscar categories and this big change could negatively affect actresses who would otherwise have a chance to win this prestigious award.
'Get Out' leads the nominations
Satirical horror movie "Get Out" is leading the way with most nominees at this year's MTV Movie Awards. It is nominated in seven categories, including movie of the year. Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," and TV shows "This Is Us" and "Stranger Things" have four nominations each.
Emma Watson has been nominated in the best actor in a movie category, while "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke is nominated in the best actor in a show category. Considering that there have already been many great movies this year, we can expect a tight race for the awards in some categories.
