Yesterday, GLAAD announced the nominees for its 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The criteria used for nominee selection are: fair, accurate, and inclusive representations; boldness and originality; impact; and overall quality. Though media often struggle with accurately and respectfully portraying trans people, this year saw several portrayals of the community worthy of nomination.
In 2013, Laverne Cox made history for her portrayal of Sophia Burset in Netflix's Orange Is The New Black. Sophia is one of the first transgender characters on television to be played by a trans person, and Cox is one of the first trans women of color to be a television star. Another nominee, Dallas Buyers Club, features Rayon, an HIV-positive trans woman living in Dallas, Texas in the 1980s. In the documentary category, Valentine Road told the tragic story of gender non-conforming student Larry King who was brutally murdered by one of his classmates in 2008 in Oxnard, California. This year, Grey's Anatomy featured a story of a young trans couple dealing with an unsupportive parent, while Glee included trans student Unique in a regular role. In the Oustanding Reality Program category, three nominees are trans-inclusive, Small Town Security which saw Captain Dennis Starr changing his legal name and progressing in his transition, the Sundance Channel's Dream School included a trans student, and the first season of Fuse's Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce featured Freedia's best friend, out bounce performer Katey Red.
In the journalism categories, Advocate.com's "PrimeTimers: A Spotlight on LGBT Seniors" featured a profile of Rosie Del Mar, a 72-year-old trans activist and veteran. Out trans MMA fighter Fallon Fox received a nomination for sharing her story with SportsIllustrated.com. HuffPost Live is nominated for a piece titled "Remixing the Trans and Hip Hop Conversation" hosted by Marc Lamont Hill and featuring trans advocates Janet Mock and Laverne Cox. Janet Mock is also featured in Melissa Harris-Perry's nominated piece "Pride & Prejudice." Al Jazeera English's The Stream is nominated in the Outstanding TV Journalism - Newsmagazine category for a story about the hijra community in India, also competing in that category is ABC's 20/20 for a story by Barbara Walters on young trans role model Jazz, as well as Anderson Cooper's interview with former Navy Seal Kristin Beck. A story by the Associated Press about trans youth was nominated in the Outstanding Newspaper Article, while trans advocate Monica Roberts was nominated for her blog TransGriot.
For a complete list of nominees, please click here.
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD's work to amplify stories from the LGBT community and issues that build support for equality.
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles on April 12, 2014 at The Beverly Hilton and in New York on May 3 at the Waldorf Astoria New York. Find out how you can buy tickets or host a table here.
To receive the latest updates on the GLAAD Media Awards, follow @glaad on Twitter and use the hashtag #glaadawards.
