There are so few female directors in movies and television in Hollywood that when one gets a major award, it’s a big deal — for both that director and women everywhere. And that’s what happened on Sunday night, when Transparent creator, writer, and director Jill Soloway took home a 2015 Emmy Award for Directing for a Comedy Series. Soloway was obviously pleased and shocked at her win (which she totally deserved, because Transparent is absolutely fantastic), but it was Soloway's heart-melting and important speech that took center stage.
For those of you who don’t know, Soloway created Transparent after being inspired by her own transgender parent. Touched and heartened by her experience, Soloway wrote Transparent, got an amazing cast behind the show, and began scooping up awards and acclaim. Accepting her award, Soloway stood up for the rights of her "Mapa," as she calls her parent, saying:
Thank you, goddess. Goddess first, Amazon second. Thank you Mapa for coming out, and coming to L.A., and coming here tonight. Something interesting about my Mapa, Carrie. She could tomorrow, go to try to find an apartment, and, in 32 states, it would be legal for the landlord to look her in the eye and say. "We don't rent to trans people." We don't have a trans tipping point yet, we have a trans civil rights problem, so, go to transequality.org and vote to pass the trans equality bill.
Soloway’s directing award is a huge win for women in every industry (especially because it’s a struggle for women to be nominated, which is an issue that is a whole other post), but it’s even more poignant because of the platform on which Soloway stands. She is a champion for both women's and transgender rights, and the greater visibility that this directing award will get her will help millions of people around the world. Knowledge is power, people, and Soloway is spreading knowledge, one show at a time.
