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“If they’re wearing an elaborate costume they’ve been gluing together all week just to be at Simon or are a trans person all the way in the back by themselves in heels — ouch — I will give them that special moment and make them feel seen.”

Because the question is not asked that way, people don’t feel implicated in it; they don’t think that it goes beyond Can a trans person participate in sports?

And that’s another trope: that every trans person needs surgery.

But when one trans person ends up being sh*tty, that’s when we start having these conversations, and everything’s focused on Gascón and her alone.

When the 2025 Oscar nominations were announced bright and early Jan. 23, one of the most promising headlines bursting through the fog of the morning was that Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular character in awards season heavyweight “Emilia Pérez,” was the first openly trans person to be nominated for an acting role.