Brian May comments on woke culture re- Brit Awards.

[Badjudgeofcharacter]

guitar.com/news/music-news/brian-may-woke-cancel-brit-awards-sexes-races-trans/

[JazzyBBG]

There is an update at the top of the article saying his comments were taken out of context.

My take on it would be he's trying to say don't label everyone and why do you need to. I don't necessarily buy him being old and bigoted as such - his best friend was gay who he watched die of aids and supported him then and now. I think he just thinks why do we need to know all this - bearing in mind Queen and Freddie were very private by today's standards. He is quite opinionated but also very clever and I think the popular press don't always know how to take him.

[zanahoria]

Brian May had problems with 'woke' culture thirty years back when Queen were doing gigs in South Africa.

[334bu]

www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/16/gender-disparity-in-uk-radio-report-shows-minor-improvements-on-2020

As long as women don't get the same opportunities that men get in the music business, there remains a need to redress the balance by keeping specific female only awards.

[TheThinWhiteDutchess]

I'm a huge Queen fan and I can't believe that Brian made these comments to The Sun, or even that he granted the Sun an interview.

If he did, then he has made himself look like a massive idiot and has completely glossed over the fact that the Best Band Brit Award has, in general, been won by a band made up of white men (with a few exceptions). Also routing Freddie as a gay person of colour does not help IMO, as Freddie 'passed' for white British and was not 'out and proud'. This is not a criticism of Freddie, who was fucking wonderful and an amazing front man. But he wasn't there to be anyone's icon, he was just a fantastic musician and there's nothing wrong with that.

And some of those bands made up of white men create songs that I love, I'd never poo poo their talent, but we can't pretend that they haven't enjoyed a massive amount of privilege in their careers.

[LavenderAskew]

@ThirdElephant

Who won the artist of the year and international artist of the year categories this year, just out of curiosity?

They were split by sex still for 2021.

Now thinking about it in a less knee jerk way, I'm not sure it will be a sausage fest. I had the Smash Hit awards in my head when I wrote that (do they even happen anymore?) not the Brits.

[LavenderAskew]

@Redshoeblueshoe

May is right.
Gender free awards, like gender free every thing only damage one group of people

Women.

I can guarantee men will win all the awards, and women will only win stuff if they have a penis.

And all the cool girls will fawn.

And all the women artists will break their hearts, because whatever they do - it will never be enough

I don't think he is. Does he mention anything about women? (Apart from being horrified that they would be forced to have people if different sex in the group, which we might presume means women to May.) It's the conservative groups that made the comments about women's and sexism.

Also, I don't think they would be considered not diverse enough- are many all-male groups today accused of this?

Plus, I would imagine it's like Freddie Murcury would get a lot of labels attached to him if Queen was starting up today. Not necessarily by himself who knows what he'd think, but by others.
He was flamboyant and didn't fit into the narrowly defined characteristics that a person needs to for society to consider them men.

With these sexless categories I do suspect the nomiees will be short on women and the winner group a sausage fest. I can only hope to be proved wrong.

[ThirdElephant]

Who won the artist of the year and international artist of the year categories this year, just out of curiosity?

[nettie434]

I agree with CheeseMmmm that Brian May's comments - as they are reported - imply that it is bands of straight white men that are disadvantaged in today's music industry. I have never like Led Zeppelin's music but I was so impressed hearing Robert Plant on the radio this week talking about working with Alison Krauss on their new album. It was a huge contrast with Brian May's comments.

Men and women do not work on an equal basis in the music industry. Otherwise there would be more women drummers or guitarists in bands. As suggested on another thread, an any/all gender award and a women's one would have been the way to go forward.

[CheeseMmmm]

Women's categories in awards etc exist because of a long term and continuing huge sexism issue.

I'm not sure it's so bad with the Brits, but their motivation for this move I'm sure is as per my previous post.

Also generally the word morons is not one you hear nowadays it's gone out of mainstream use. Whether just language moves, or because loads of people feel it's insulting to those with certain disabilities, or a bit of both I don't know. Just FYI.

[CheeseMmmm]

Hadn't read it when commented and my post on the motivation of the organisers is still pertinent.

Erm. Really?

He's taking shit.

'a trans' wtf.

It's a straight, white, highly educated, heterosexual, white man who has for good reason been enormously successful.

I don't usually use the straight white etc stuff for my own reasons.

In this case though it's just a must.

His comments are bog standard for an alarmingly huge number of men who feel done down, unfairly treated, that various other groups (generally all of them) are getting special treatment etc. It's just not fair and it's just not right.

No one should say you have to have xyz! FFS. They were a band that got together and wrote and gigged and eventually got signed. And their genre was I suppose. Soft rock? Or something.

The idea bands like that are getting signed and then some are swapped out for is ???!!!!

[Fifteentoes]

May’s comments (at least as reported there, which may be misleadingly selective) are moronic. No one’s forcing bands to have diverse races and sexes or trans members now, as is clear from the simple fact that the vast majority of them don’t.
And why should Best Artist awards be encumbered by sex or gender? I understand male and female (sex) categories in sport, because it’s an objectively quantifiable fact that males have certain physical advantages over females. But I’m not aware of any evidence of innate male superiority in song writing or playing instruments, and indeed both sexed coexist doing so successfully at the top of the music industry. Surely feminists should encourage letting go of such artificial distinctions, not desperately try to hang on to them?
May just sounds like an old bigot grumbling about “political correctness gone mad” here. Surprising.

[Redshoeblueshoe]

Yay Cleebope2 have a great time x

[Cleebope2]

Thank you Brian for speaking out. Glad I have tickets to see you with AdamLambert in May!!!

[CheeseMmmm]

I believe the actual reason this is happening with awards.

Is because if they don't. It's a nightmare.

TWAW TMAM. In reality reaction from general public of male winning women category would be massive and mean huge controversy arguments etc. (female? rename the category? Reaction? Additional nightmare.).
Add category for non binary? What about other genders?

Arrrggh.

Whatever these bodies do it will be wrong. For one group or another. And big chance both sides will say nope!

One award? Phew! Let's get on with our actual jobs.

[Redshoeblueshoe]

May is right.
Gender free awards, like gender free every thing only damage one group of people

Women.

I can guarantee men will win all the awards, and women will only win stuff if they have a penis.

And all the cool girls will fawn.

And all the women artists will break their hearts, because whatever they do - it will never be enough