Organisers of The Brit Awards have announced they are scrapping separate male and female categories for the 2022 ceremony.
Instead, they will be replaced by gender-neutral awards in an attempt to make the event more inclusive.
Musicians will be nominated for artist of the year instead of male solo artist and female solo artist, and best international artist of the year will be used instead of best international female or male solo artist.
Four new fan voted genre awards – Alternative/Rock act, Pop/R&B act, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap act and Dance act – this year fans have more power than ever as we bring back the vote, while The #BRITs shines a light across a diverse range of genres (2/2) pic.twitter.com/myhQpxMllr
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) November 22, 2021
The 2022 ceremony, which will take place on February 8, will also feature four new public vote awards – alternative/rock act; hip hop/grime/rap act; dance act and pop/R’n’B act.
Meanwhile, the song of the year prize will recognise the featured artists on the track, rather than just the lead artists or named collaborators.
Brit chair Tom March said: “It is important that The Brits continue to evolve and aim to be as inclusive as possible. It feels completely the right time to celebrate the achievements of artists for the music that they create, and the work that they do, irrespective of gender.”
Excited To Announce 🚨I’m going to be your host for the 2022 @brits Awards. This is a huge honour for me and being a fan of music I can’t wait bring fun, unlimited vibes and an award show the music fan can feel part of #BRITs love for the continued support it always means a lot pic.twitter.com/p0pHl3dvrz
— Mo Gilligan (@MoTheComedian) November 22, 2021
The removal of gendered categories has divided opinions online. While many welcomed the change, others took to Twitter to criticize the decision.
One person tweeted: “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.”
Another wrote: “I don’t have an issue with this other than it halves the number of recipients, so in the years that a man wins, a woman will lose the opportunities and platforms she would otherwise have had.”
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
I would not be surprised if this means – Adele aside – men getting all the top gongs every year from now on. Well done @BRITs https://t.co/yYZdiWZ2NI
— nicole lampert (@nicolelampert) November 22, 2021
Brit award scraping gender categories is ridiculous 🤦🏽♀️ #BritAwards
— Kirsty T (@KirstyTurton) November 22, 2021
I don’t have an issue with this other than it halves the number of recipients, so in the years that a man wins, a woman will lose the opportunities and platforms she would otherwise have had. https://t.co/moYbpSi6zB
— Tracy King (@tkingdot) November 22, 2021
