The English singer-songwriter Adele is being criticized for her speech saying ‘I love being a woman’ when she accepted a gender-neutral award at the BRIT Awards ceremony. Some people didn’t like the singer’s words and accused her of transphobia.
The BRIT Awards ceremony in London has taken its step towards inclusivity by introducing gender-neutral categories. This only means that there are no longer best male or female artists, rather it is simply titled as best artist.
On February 8, Adele gave her acceptance speech when she claimed her award for Artist of the Year. The singer said, “I understand why the name of this award has changed but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!” “I’m really proud of us, I really, really am,” she added.
#ADELE: “i really love being a woman and being a female artist” #Brits pic.twitter.com/w63u7DyCuo
— alyx (@tvmourn) February 8, 2022
Soon after, Adele’s speech brought criticism online and some accused her of being transphobic; some even labeled her TERF or trans-exclusionary radical feminist. But, despite the hate being thrown at the artist, many came to her defense, remarking how misogynistic the accusations have been.
Some explained that the speech was harmless and that it’s actually something to be proud of. “Adele’s message to women and girls was inspirational. Here was a woman — who has sold tens of millions of albums — telling the world she was proud to be a woman. That’s something to celebrate, not condemn,” teacher Debbie Hayton said in an op-ed on The Spectator.
People on social media also shared the same sentiments.
Astonishing how a woman can go on stage, say how much she enjoys being a woman and being female and that's enough to label her a #terf.
So basically, proudly defining you're a member of a specific sex is #transphobic?
It's utter nonsense.
Congrats to #Adele though. 😁
— GCBeeGee (@GCBeeGee) February 8, 2022
You think Adele’s a ‘terf’ because she wanted to be classed as a female artist? Get a grip with your first world misogynistic rhetoric.
— Hannah Evelyn Jones (@hanevelynjones) February 8, 2022
The best thing about the Adele situation is that it shows that all any woman has to do to be called a “terf” is acknowledge her own sex. It exposes how low the bar is & how high the cost is for a woman who speaks the truth without first considering if deranged men are OK with it.
— TheFamousArtistBirdyRose (@TheFamousArtBR) February 9, 2022
@Adele i love you for saying this. Girls need to hear this more than ever. Girls look up to you and you are going to inspire them to be proud of themselves and not feel they have to disassociate from their bodies because of male gaze/misogyny/judgement/trauma. Brava!
— Xanax🦞 (@WorrierPwincess) February 8, 2022
The Adele "controversy" appears to be rightwing outlets attempting to claim she's being accused of transphobia for saying she's proud to be a woman while accepting a gender-neutral award.
That's not transphobia. Adele is not a transphobe.
What an utterly toothless "scandal".
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) February 9, 2022
Adele took home the awards for Best Artist, Best Album, and Song of the Year. She didn’t publicly make any statement regarding the debate on her speech, but instead shared her gratitude on Twitter for the show.
What a night! Thank you @BRITs, thank you Sally and Tom for being so accommodating. Thank you to everyone who was there in the crowd, you were so loud and loving! Congratulations to all the other winners and nominees, keep on smashing it! 🇬🇧 ✨ pic.twitter.com/8jDoF0DJ6E
— Adele (@Adele) February 9, 2022
Last year, leading non-binary artist Sam Smith criticized the British award ceremony for their use of gendered award categories. Smith said that it excludes artists who identify neither male nor female. However, British culture secretary Nadine Dorries was concerned for the change as this could mean women may not be “fairly represented”.
But, the results of the award show didn’t seem to show the concern when women and female-fronted acts won 10 out of 15 prizes, including Billie Eilish for Best International Artist, Olivia Rogrigo for the Best International Song “Good 4 U”, and British rapper Little Simz as Best New Artist.
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