No, Bono is not in any way a female. Yet somehow he’s been named Glamour’s first male “Woman of the Year.”
Naturally, this has sparked a lot of criticism online, with people questioning why a man would be added to a list that’s supposed to be geared at celebrating women. Here are some of the tweets:
Here’s how #Bono should’ve reacted when a magazine asked him to be their Woman Of The Year – “Um no, give it to an actual woman.”
— Lance Burson (@lanceburson) November 2, 2016
1.Because white men need more awards.
2. A man. Really.
3. of all men. Bono. Really. pic.twitter.com/1mU9e1LUFf— Media Diversified (@WritersofColour) November 3, 2016
Bono, woman of the year? Seems it takes a male lens-tinted singer to save womankind | Nell Frizzell https://t.co/kD9BZpNtvt
— The Guardian (@guardian) November 2, 2016
Well done @glamourmag for completely undermining an award meant to spotlight women in a world already focused on rich, white men. #bono
— Tempest Rose (@HOBTempestRose) November 2, 2016
Congratulations to Bono for fighting the patriarchy for women. We would’ve done it ourselves but we’re all so emotionally volatile and weak.
— OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) November 2, 2016
Glamour’s editor-in-chief Cindi Leive spoke about the reasoning behind their decision. “It started to seem that that might be an outdated way of looking at things,” she said of the previous method of only including women. “There are so many men who really are doing wonderful things for women these days. Some men get it, and Bono is one of those guys.”
Leive is referencing Bono’s work in establishing Poverty is Sexist, a movement that focuses on raising awareness about the lack of opportunities for women.
Read more to see some of the other “Women of the Year”: