2016 Woman Of The Year List Includes U2’s Bono — And The Internet Reacts


A Woman of the Year on Glamour‘s 2106 list is even more controversial than it was last year. U2’s Bono, known for his activist tendencies, has been included on the list of the most influential women for the past year, and a lot of people aren’t cool with it.

Even Bono wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do.

“I’m sure I don’t deserve it. But I’m grateful for this award as a chance to say the battle for gender equality can’t be won unless men lead it along with women. We’re largely responsible for the problem, so we have to be involved in the solutions.”

This follows the reveal last year that Caitlyn Jenner, who had begun undergoing gender reassignment surgery after eschewing the name Bruce, had won. Considering that she had been born a male, and won Olympic fame while embracing the gender, there were some real questions on most people’s minds.

There has been a push in Hollywood recently to swap major franchise casting from dominantly male (Ghostbusters) to entirely female (Ocean’s Eight), and similar reactions have taken place. The battle of the genders has raged for decades, but it wasn’t until Jennifer Lawrence came forward with an open letter on the gender gap that the world was forced to acknowledge it.

The fight for equality has been extremely polarizing, with Emma Watson’s #HeForShe campaign being among the least exclusive. The way she’d explained it, feminism is not about hating men, but including them in the fight for women’s rights.

U2’s Bono has been doing something similar with his One campaign, named after the band’s hit single. He has been fighting for the rights of women and girls across the world, making him one of the greatest examples of male-led feminism. This is why Glamour named him among the Women of the Year in 2016, according to CNN.

Glamour offered a note explaining their reasons.

“These days most women want men – no, need men – in our tribe. … When the president declared himself a feminist, when super-cool actors line up to endorse the United Nations’ #HeForShe campaign, when a major male rock star who could do anything at all with his life decides to focus on the rights of women and girls worldwide – well, all that’s worth celebrating. We’re proud to name that rock star, Bono, our first Man of the Year.”

Comedian Travon Free summed up why Glamour‘s decision to name Bono with such an award was hypocritical, according to BBC.

There are clearly solid arguments for both sides, but the women’s magazine seems to be ignoring the opposing views for a second year in a row.

It almost makes the public wonder just how far they’re willing to go with it in the following years.

[Featured Image by 360b/Shutterstock.com]

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