By Darcy Nathan
From the Oscars to the Grammys, awards ceremonies have historically been breeding grounds for gender inequality. Taking gender out of awards categories solves the immediate problem of creating a hierarchical binary in the industry, but they arguably became archaic long before they were officially outlawed. Last week’s Brit awards highlighted systemic problems despite this move to level the playing field.
Long before last night’s broadcast, the Brits had been criticised for failing to include a single woman in the Best Artist category, for which winner Harry Styles publicly acknowledged his male privilege. Men dominated the category, with Central Cee, Fred Again, George Ezra, and Stormzy all nominated for the top award.
“I’m really, really grateful. I’m very aware of my privilege up here tonight. So this award is for Rina, Charli, Florence, Mabel and Becky – thank you so much” said Styles.
The award nominees have raised the issue of a lack of female voices in the industry as a whole. The situation is often not any less problematic when women are included at the Brits.
Mo Gilligan was criticised for his inappropriate question to Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock, when asking her about her role as a mother.
“Who is babysitting tonight, because tomorrow’s Sunday? Are you going out? Having it large?”
It is apparent from Mo’s remarks that women are increasingly seen as mothers and their career achievements are underappreciated. In spite of being a member of one of the biggest girl bands in the world, no questions were asked about her music career. Instead, her role as a mother was her defining feature.
It was pointed out by fans that Mo did not ask related questions to any of his male interviewees. His casual questioning shows just how deeply ingrained this implicit form of misogyny is.
The inappropriate questions did not stop there, as Tom Grennan, who takes the award for most misogynistic comment of the eventing. Teaming up with Ellie Goulding to present an award, he asked Goulding, who was wearing a black breastplate: “Are they your real boobs?” before apologising.
The moment has been branded ‘tit-gate’ online and has promoted “Ellie Goulding’s breasts” to a top news search hit. Goulding has since clarified that she was not offended by the comment. However, there is a risk that this could set a dangerous precedent for the normalization of comments about women’s bodies.
Should male friends be able to critique their female friends’ breasts in public? Again, fans were quick to point out that Grennan would not have asked a similar question if he had been co-presenting with a man.
Others pointed out the hypocrisy of the outrage about Grennan’s comments due to the presence of two shirtless Magic Mike dancers on stage with Salma Hayek. However, many have not considered the nuance that this display was directly related to their role in the film.
Women have been subjugated by the industry for a long time and have not been provided with a platform for success. It is unfortunate that the Brits have failed to include women in their nominations, in addition to facilitating a broadcast that reduces women to their bodies and roles in society.
There is perhaps no greater issue at this year’s Brit awards than the normalisation of misogyny in the music industry as a whole.
Tits Upon Tyne 