Chris Lange, FISM News
Organizers of Britain’s pop music awards, the BRITs, have announced plans to make the honors gender-neutral in 2022 by scrapping male and female categories.
According to London News Today, organizers want artists to be recognized by the identity of their choice, as opposed to segregating them according to their biological sex.
“BRIT has confirmed that the 2022 show will move away from the female and male categories and launch new awards for the Artist of the Year and the International Artist of the Year, celebrating artists solely with music and work,” said a BRIT spokesperson, adding that the decision reflects “BRIT’s commitment to evolve the show to be as comprehensive and relevant as possible.”
Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year awards were previously bifurcated into male and female categories. In 2022, men, women, and those with self-appointed genders will compete for the same honors.
New for #BRITs 2022: Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year – celebrating artists solely for their music, The BRITs have committed to making the show more inclusive (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Y5UfvfZiQi
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) November 22, 2021
The move by the 42-year-old bastion of British pop music comes amid growing criticism from transgender activists that the awards were not inclusive and failed to recognize diversity among British artists. The academy, represented by more than 1,000 music industry professionals, came under fire following its May awards ceremony in which many felt pop star Sam Smith, who identifies as “non-dual,” was unfairly snubbed as a result of gendered categories.
The move drew immense criticism from many who feel women are already underrepresented in the BRITs and the British music industry, in general.
The Brit Awards have made the ludicrous decision to scrap male and female-specific categories in an attempt to become more “inclusive.”
This isn’t progress. It’s a regressive move that will hurt women.
Next up: removing gendered events from the Olympics. 🤡
— Emily Hewertson 🇬🇧 (@emilyhewertson) November 22, 2021
The revamped BRITs will air Feb. 8 with comedian Mo Gilligan tapped as host. Gilligan said emceeing the 2022 awards ceremony will be “an absolute privilege.” “We are already in the planning stage on a large scale and I can say that we promise to provide everything we need to make a great night for music fans around the world,” he said.
The 2022 BRITs will also feature four new music categories, including Alternative / Rock Act, Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Act, Dance Act, Pop / R’n’B Act.
The ungendering of the BRIT awards is not a first in the entertainment industry as the Grammy Awards had already merged the male and female categories. The San Sebastian Film Festival also handed out its first gender-neutral acting award for best leading performance in September. In 2017, Emma Watson received “best actor” honors in MTV Awards’ first non-gendered category.
These incidents highlight that while industries clamor to be politically correct and push the envelope of “inclusivity” they end up harming the majority of their constituents – in this case cutting down how many awards are given to artists – while also denying the fact that God has designed mankind with a purpose.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them… – Gen. 5:1-2