Should Cisgender Actors/Actresses Play Transgender Roles?

As many have probably seen and/or heard by now, there is a discussion in media regarding whether it is appropriate for cisgender actors and actresses to play transgender roles. One particularly well-known example was when Scarlett Johansson turned down a role in movie where she was supposed to play the role of a transgender man, after receiving backlash. See below for more information on this incident, followed by a list of actors who are cisgender that have done transgender roles. My perspective on this issue as a supporter of the LGBT community is rather mixed, so I will break it down in this article in the clearest way I can.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44829766

First off, the short version of my answer to the question in the title is yes, but only under certain conditions. For instance, I feel that it would be very wrong to hire a cisgender actor or actress to play the role when there is also an equally or more highly qualified transgender actor or actress that could play the role and is willing to do it. Furthermore, it would be terribly wrong for a cisgender person to play a role that misrepresents transgender people or makes fun of them. In the case of Scarlett Johansson, it is my understanding that the role was not designed to degrade transgender people in any way, nor was it a situation where they had turned down a transgender actor or actress. Additionally, she is an actress and playing a diverse amount of roles is part of that job. Therefore, I do not think that the backlash against her was necessary. However, as someone who fully supports LGBT rights, I am very much open to having my mind changed on this, and I do completely understand why this would be controversial to some. My main issue is that the backlash was a bit overblown, from my perspective.

The other issue here is that I want to make sure progressives are fighting for the right things and not over things that are potentially distractions. Like I said, my take is that Scarlett Johansson was not planning on degrading anybody with her role, nor was was she replacing a transgender actor or actress that could have played the role. If she was going to mock transgender people in any way, or was replacing a transgender person that was qualified for the role, then there should absolutely be backlash, but neither of those things apply in this case, as far as I know. To me, we should instead be focusing on actual issues that are affecting transgender rights, such as the fact that gender identity is still not a protected class in every state and is still not on the list of federally protected classes, as you can see in the link below. When we start fighting unnecessary battles, we are using up time that could be used fighting for issues that actually do affect the well-being of transgender people.

https://content.next.westlaw.com/Document/Ibb0a38daef0511e28578f7ccc38dcbee/View/FullText.html?contextData=(sc.Default)&transitionType=Default&firstPage=true&bhcp=1

To sum up, no, I do not think that actors and actresses playing transgender people is itself a bad thing, and the backlash against Scarlett Johansson is not what should have happened. Acting is acting and good actors and actresses have the ability to play all types of people. I understand where the backlash comes from, and I think there are certain instances where such backlash is the right response, just not in cases like Scarlett Johansson's.