Lilly Wachowski received a standing ovation at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, California last night. This marks her first appearance after coming out as a transgender woman. She accepted the award for outstanding drama series for her Netflix show Sense8.
“Tonight is a culmination of confluent events for me,” she stated. “This was something that I became aware of shortly after receiving tonight’s invitation to tonight’s affair. Some synchronism of time-space that included the 20-year anniversary of Bound, the 2016 Trans Day of Visibility, and Pi day. It’s an excellent reminder that art is never static, and while the ideas of identity and transformation are critical components of our work, the bedrock that all ideas rest upon is love. Love is a crucial thing for transgender people. It’s a tether. For while our creativity can soar beyond a seemingly immutable biological gender designations, when faced with the rather simple proposition of whether or not we are lovable, our imagination falters. Too many of us end up on the wrong side of the existential question of love in oblivion. And so we ring that bell, not for everyone else’s sake, but for our own.”
Here are the other winners of last night’s awards, which “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.”
Outstanding Film — Wide Release Carol
Outstanding Comedy Series Transparent
Outstanding Drama Series Sense8
Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series Bessie
Outstanding Documentary Kumu Hina
Outstanding Reality Program (tie) I Am Cait I Am Jazz
Outstanding Daily Drama The Bold and the Beautiful
Special Recognition Beautiful As I Want to Be, Logotv.com This Is Me, Amazon Instant Video
Outstanding Music Artist Troye Sivan
Outstanding Comic Book Lumberjanes
Outstanding Talk-Show Episode “Janet Mock,” Super Soul Sunday
Outstanding Novela Rastros de Mentiras, MundoMax
Outstanding Television Interview (Spanish-Language) “Orientación Sexual y Acoso Escolar” Realidades en Contexto, CNN en Español
Outstanding Local Television Interview (Spanish-Language) “La nueva Transgeneración,” Enfoque Los Ángeles, KVEA-Telemundo 52 [Los Ángeles]
Outstanding Local-TV Journalism (Spanish-Language) “Cada 29 Horas,” Noticias 19, KUVS-Univision 19 [Sacramento]
Outstanding Newspaper Article (Spanish-Language) “Padres transgénero – El único requisito para ser papá es el amor por los hijos” por Virginia Gaglianone, La Opinión
Outstanding Digital-Journalism Article (Spanish-Language) “Perú: violaciones correctivas: El terrible método para ‘curar’ a las lesbianas” por Leire Ventas, BBCMundo.com
Outstanding Music Artist (Spanish-Language) Ricky Martin