Following her first ever Oscars win, Lady Gaga expressed her hopes for a more inclusive Academy Awards in the future, calling for the removal of “male” and “female” categories.
The singer-turned-actress picked up the Best Original Song award for “Shallow” and received a Best Actress nomination for her acclaimed role in A Star is Born, which saw her star alongside Bradley Cooper in a third remake of the 1937 romantic drama. Gaga shared the victory with Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando, who co-wrote the track.
In a press conference after the ceremony, she voiced her support for her LGBTQ+ fans, who will be attending Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras this week. “I wish to everyone that is going to that celebration to feel a joy inside of them.”
She went on to say, “I also have a true dream in our future, as we evolve as humanity, that these award shows will not be male and female, but that we include everyone.”
The designation of awards based on gender, maintained by both the Oscars and the Baftas, has been pinned as outdated in recent years. In 2017, the MTV Movie & TV Awards made the pioneering decision to do away with separate categories for men and women.
The president of MTV, Chris McCarthy, told CNN, “We have to constantly be pushing ourselves to not only respond to culture but lead it. If we’re going to do an award show that celebrates content, why would we not modernise what that looks like?”
There’s also the idea though that merging the categories could see awards shows become even more singular, with more marginalised people left out of the accolades in favour of white men, who historically dominate prize-givings.
Elsewhere on the night, Spike Lee made a fervently political speech, calling on the US people to “regain our humanity” and mobilise before the upcoming election.