Glamour has named its women of the year, and the list includes some wonderful heroes, including three founders of the Black Lives Matter movement — Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi — and the anonymous sexual assault survivor at Stanford whose statement went viral.
It also includes Bono, a man, awarded due to his charity called Poverty Is Sexist.
According to Glamour Editor Cindy Leive, “The idea that a man who could select any cause in the world to call his own, or no cause at all, is choosing to work, and not just for one night or at a special event, but consistently day after day and month after month on behalf of women, is incredibly cool and absolutely deserves applause.”
Indeed, men can be feminists, and poverty is an incredibly gendered issue — but Bono’s Edgy, Provocative (TM) inclusion here overshadows the women listed above who probably deserved more of a spotlight this, and makes previous choices like Caitlyn Jenner feel gimmicky rather than an acknowledgment of trans issues.
But that’ the nature of these awards, anyway. They’re not purely based on merit, but conversation starters and chances to fundraise and sell gala tickets, so there you have it. In that light, it’s amazing they’ve waited so long to include Bono.
Let’s let the witty tongues of the internet have the final word here: