Abandoning gender categories allows cultural achievements to be celebrated without prejudice, says Annabel Nugent.
It’s made headlines, but the news that the 2022 Brit Awards will ditch gendered categories is hardly a surprise. Rumours of a shakeup at the UK music ceremony have been around for the past year. They most recently flared up after Sam Smith – who identifies as non-binary – was excluded from the gendered categories in March. The move feels inevitable. So too does the backlash. But this decision is the correct, logical one for an awards show seeking to avoid the impending irrelevance staring it – and others like it – right in the face.
So, as of 2022’s event, the categories for British Male Solo Artist and British Female Solo Artist will be condensed into a sparkly, spankin’ new accolade: Artist of the Year. Likewise, Best International Male and Best International Female will become Best International Artist. Tom March, the Brit Awards chair and co-president of Polydor Records, says the decision was made with the aim of making the awards “as inclusive as possible”...Keep reading on The Independent.
It’s made headlines, but the news that the 2022 Brit Awards will ditch gendered categories is hardly a surprise. Rumours of a shakeup at the UK music ceremony have been around for the past year. They most recently flared up after Sam Smith – who identifies as non-binary – was excluded from the gendered categories in March. The move feels inevitable. So too does the backlash. But this decision is the correct, logical one for an awards show seeking to avoid the impending irrelevance staring it – and others like it – right in the face.
So, as of 2022’s event, the categories for British Male Solo Artist and British Female Solo Artist will be condensed into a sparkly, spankin’ new accolade: Artist of the Year. Likewise, Best International Male and Best International Female will become Best International Artist. Tom March, the Brit Awards chair and co-president of Polydor Records, says the decision was made with the aim of making the awards “as inclusive as possible”...Keep reading on The Independent.