A transgender actor starring in the new movie Emilia Perez at the Cannes Film Festival said that gender should be “unimportant,” adding that trans individuals are “normal people.”
Karla Sofía Gascón — who was born male and now identifies as a woman — stars in Emilia Perez as a male drug kingpin who decides to exit the drug trade by undergoing a sex-change operation. The unconventional movie musical, which co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez, premiered Saturday in competition at Cannes.
At a press conference over the weekend, Gascón, who is from Spain, said trans people are human beings like everybody else and their gender should be “unimportant.”
“We’re normal people who can have the careers they want,” said Gascon, according to an AFP report. “Being trans is unimportant. A trans person is someone going through a transition. Once they have transitioned, that’s it. They are what they are.”
“We’re first and foremost human beings, and there’s no point sticking labels on us.”
#EmiliaPerez star Karla Sofía Gascón on the importance of her role in the film as a trans woman: “I think trans people should be treated like anybody else. I’m no better, no worse than anyone else … We have to continue fighting for our rights.” https://t.co/kgC2ntGSwP pic.twitter.com/TIQvRSVmQU
— Variety (@Variety) May 19, 2024
Gascón said Hispanic cultures tend to denigrate transgender individuals.
“People who are trans are subjected to insults or death threats because they exist. In Mexico, there are harsh phrases when addressing trans people. It can be gross,” Gascon said, according to a Deadline report.
“I think we should be taken for what we are. We have to continue fighting for our rights. We have our body and we’re allowed to change it.”
Karla Sofía Gascón penned a book about undergoing a sex change operation at the age of 46 after being married to a woman and fathering a child.
Before transitioning, Gascón — who was named Carlos — worked as an actor in Spanish-language TV shows.
