On January 22, 2025, GLAAD announced the nominees for the 36th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, and many of this year’s nominees center diverse and compelling stories about transgender and nonbinary people.
In the Outstanding Film – Limited Theatrical Release category several nominees tell powerful stories about transgender people. In 20,000 Species of Bees, a young trans girl navigates new friendships and family expectations during a summer holiday with her mom, her bee-keeper aunt, and her brother. In Before I Change My Mind, a script selected for the 2020 GLAAD List, a teen in 1980s Alberta, played by nonbinary actor Vaughan Murrae, moves to a new town and forges an unlikely bond with the school bully. In Close To You, starring and produced by Elliot Page (pictured below), a trans man heads back home and bumps into an old friend who rekindles feelings of romance from when they dated prior to his transition, while he simultaneously tries to navigate his family’s struggle to come to terms with his transition.
In Crossing, a retired Georgian teacher crosses the border into Turkey to search for her long lost trans niece. Along the way, she recruits the help of another trans woman, played by Turkish trans actress, Deniz Dumanli. The film premiered at Berlinale, where it won the Teddy Jury Award for best LGBTQ film. In Fitting In, a teenage girl discovers she has an intersex trait and it disrupts her sense of belonging, womanhood, and sexual identity until she meets a transmasculine intersex person (played by Ki Griffin) who helps her to fully embrace herself. In A Place of Our Own, two Indian trans women are suddenly evicted by their transphobic landlord, so they must put their heads together to find somewhere new to call home as they continue their advocacy work to uplift their community.
In the Outstanding Documentary category, Breaking the News features trans nonbinary reporter Kate Sosin. In Chasing Chasing Amy, trans filmmaker Sav Rodgers navigates the thorny legacy of the 1997 Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy, by interviewing Smith and other members of the film’s cast, as well as exploring the film’s impact on his own understanding of his queerness growing up in Kansas. In Hummingbirds, two queer young adults, one of whom is nonbinary, navigate belonging and growing up in a Texas border town, along with their friend who is a trans woman. In Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, the legacy of LGBTQ comedians is examined, including out trans comedians such as Suzy Izzard and Mae Martin. In Who I Am Not, the lives of two intersex people living in South Africa intersect, one of whom is a trans nonbinary person attempting to learn more about medical procedures performed on them as an infant. And in Will & Harper, Harper Steele (pictured below), a newly out trans woman and former SNL writer, goes on a road trip with her long-time friend Will Ferrell, as they rediscover each other and America.
In the Outstanding New Series category, Kaos, a contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology set in a modern world in which the Greek gods are real, features out trans actor Misia Butler (pictured below) as Caeneus, a trans man raised among the Amazons who finds there may be more to life than shepherding souls through the underworld when he falls in love with Eurydice – and she falls for him too. With three trans people playing the three Fates, this series is very queer.
In Outstanding Comedy Series, transmasculine actor Murray Hill plays Fred Rococo, the host of a small-town queer cabaret in the final season of Somebody Somewhere. In the final season of Sort Of, created by and starring out trans actor and filmmaker Bilal Baig (pictured below), a gender-fluid millennial struggles to balance multiple roles foisted upon them as they come of age in Toronto.
In Outstanding Drama Series, five of the ten nominees include transgender characters. In Doctor Who, trans actress Yasmin Finney (pictured below) plays Rose Noble, the trans daughter of fan favorite character Donna Noble.
In The Chi, L’Ierrét Jazelle plays Fatima, a trans woman navigating love and local community activism. Other returning series with trans characters include the final seasons of 9-1-1: Lone Star starring Brian Michael Smith as Paul Strickland, The Umbrella Academy, starring Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, and Star Trek: Discovery, featuring Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander.
In the Outstanding Limited Series category, Nava Mau (pictured below) plays Teri, a trans woman caught up in a tumultuous relationship with a traumatized man and his stalker in Baby Reindeer.
In Get Millie Black, newcomer Chyna McQueen plays Hibiscus, a Jamaican trans woman who is the protector of her chosen queer family and the sister of the lead character.
In the Outstanding Reality Program category, We’re Here features a new set of hosts traveling the country and uplifting small town queer communities, and among them is Sasha Velour (pictured below), best known for her drag cabaret Nightgowns and as the winner of season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In Wiggin’ Out with Tokyo Stylez, trans business woman Tokyo Stylez makes custom wigs for celebrity clients.
The Outstanding Kids & Family Programming – Animated category includes The Dragon Prince, which features the trans character Terry, voiced by Benjamin Callins, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which features trans character Brooklyn, voiced by Indya Moore, and trans nonbinary character Tai, voiced by Ian Alexander.
In the Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film – Live Action category, Netflix hit Heartstopper continues to include transgender character Elle Argent, played by trans actress Yasmin Finney, as she navigates newfound public notoriety, a new school, and its impact on her relationship with Tao Xu. Season three also saw the return of the trans disabled character Felix, played by trans disabled actor Ash Self, Naomi played by trans actress Bel Priestley, and trans actress Rebecca Root as the principal of Elle’s new school.
Video Game
Five of the 10 games nominated for Outstanding Video Game feature transgender characters: Caravan SandWitch, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Dread Delusion, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, and the new remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. You can read more about these nominees here.
In the Outstanding Comic Book category, Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices includes several LGBT characters, including Escapade, a trans girl who also happens to be a mutant. In The Nice House by the Sea, several people are chosen to survive the end of humanity and one of them is Norah, a transgender woman. Returning nominee The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos includes Jordi, a Black trans guy who also happens to be a vampire. And Suicide Squad: Dream Team, written by trans actress Nicole Maines, brings trans superhero Dreamer from the TV series Supergirl to the pages of DC Comics.
Eight of the ten nominees in the Outstanding Graphic Novel/Anthology category include transgender characters. In Ash’s Cabin a young nonbinary child runs away from home to live in the woods because they have a deeper connection to nature than to people. In Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story, written by Nicole Maines, we get the origin story of how Dreamer got her superpowers. Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans is an anthology of stories by transgender people telling stories of their trans childhood. Deadendia: The Divine Order is the final volume in the Deadendia series which stars Barney, a trans teenage boy who works at a haunted amusement park. In The Deep Dark a transgender woman named Nessa reconnects with a childhood friend who has a traumatic secret. Lunar Boy is a charming sci-fi tale with a trans boy as the lead character, and while set in space, the story is deeply rooted in Indonesian culture and the indigenous understanding of gender diversity in that country. The Science of Ghosts, by trans writer Lilah Sturges, is about a trans woman ghost hunter who uncovers a nefarious conspiracy many decades in the making. Finally, The Ribbon Skirt tells the story of ten-year-old Anang who was assigned male at birth but who wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by girls in the Anishinaabe tradition, for an upcoming powwow.
Spanish-Language
Many of the nominees in the Spanish-Language categories include stories about transgender people, notably Cris Miró (Max), Land of Women (Apple TV+), El secreto del río (Netflix), and Vestidas de azul (Atresplayer). Please click here to read more about the Spanish-Language nominees.
In the Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist category, trans actress and singer Michaela Jaé (pictured below) is nominated, along with Villano Antillano.
Journalism
Many talk show and journalism nominees feature trans people and/or highlighted issues affecting the trans community. Those nominees may be found here.
Several of the nominees this year also include nonbinary characters who are not explicitly defined as transgender, adding to the growing conversation about gender diversity. Those nominees include: in the Drama Series category Heartbreak High includes a nonbinary student; in the Children’s Programming category The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish features nonbinary student Winn Harper, in “I’m Pogey” Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock a nonbinary muppet finds the courage to say who they are, while Monster High features Frankie, a nonbinary teen; in the Kids & Family Programming – Animated category “Summer of Heart Eyes” Primos finds Lita falling for nonbinary musician and skateboarder Alex; and in the Breakthrough Music Artist category The Blessed Madonna (aka Marea Stamper) and The Last Dinner Party (featuring nonbinary band member Lizzie Mayland) received nominations.
The 36th Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2024. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which fund GLAAD’s work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance, will take place in Los Angeles on March 27, 2025. You can keep up with the latest developments by following GLAAD on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook.