I'll try to ask this question as gracefully as I can.

I'm a cisgender female, nearly 70, who tries to keep myself informed by asking questions when I just don't know.

Sunday night, at the Tony Awards, there were two non-binary performers who won Tony Awards, J. Harrison Ghee for Lead Actor in a Musical and Alex Newell as Featured Actor in a Musical. How do they choose which category that they compete in? Ghee portrayed Jerry/Daphne (the Jack Lemmon role) in Some Like It Hot, and Newell played a character named Lulu in Shucked.

I'd hate to think that the categories (actor vs. actress) are chosen based on birth gender - that seems so Floridian. Does anyone know how this works?

Thanks in advance!