Sept. 21--Chicago native Jill Soloway spoke about challenges transgender people face after winning a directing Emmy Sunday night for her Amazon series "Transparent," which is inspired by her experience having a transgender parent.
"Thank you Mapa for coming out and coming to L.A. And coming here tonight. And something interesting about my Mapa, Carrie: She could, tomorrow, go and 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,'" Soloway said in her Emmys speech. "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."
It was the first Emmy win for Soloway, an alumna of the Annoyance Theatre.
"Transparent" star Jeffrey Tambor on Sunday won the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series, which he dedicated to the transgender community.
"I'd like to dedicate my performance and this award to the transgender community," said Tambor, who plays a transgender woman on the show. "Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you for letting us be part of the change."
The second season of "Transparent" is scheduled to premiere in December.
