Bono Named Glamour’s First ‘Man of the Year’ at ‘Women of the Year’ Ceremony
Image by getty images
Fine, so I don’t know much about Bono, other than that he’s the guy from U2, and that on BBC podcasts, they make fun of his earnestness. Also that he is a supporter of Jewish poetry, and an opponent of Donald Trump, so, go Bono! I mention Bono now, on the Sisterhood, because he has recently #CausedControversy by getting selected as Glamour magazine’s “Man of the Year Award” for his activism. He received the honor at Glamour’s “Women of the Year Awards,” which… yup.
How are we supposed to feel about this? That is, about an award otherwise given to women, going instead to a dude? A mix of ways. I think it’s important, given the down-the-toilet-ish-ness of contemporary politics, to take support where you find it. Even from Bono name-checking Sheryl Sandberg and Lena Dunham at a women’s magazine event, a convergence of tidbits that probably caused some socialist heads to explode. Now is not the moment to start calling out would-be ‘allies’ for being too self-righteous. If a man trips up a bit when trying to promote feminism, or a non-Jew when trying to oppose anti-Semitism, it’s like, nobody’s perfect, at least they’re not being Bannon-esque? And points, I suppose, for acknowledging the criticism?
At the same time, without shaming either Glamour or Bono, without devolving into a rant about members of privileged groups making it about them, we can use this moment to remember that activism can’t just be well-meaning haves doing their part. It can’t just be the leveraging of privilege for the greater good, followed by the proverbial cookie. Now is probably not the moment to make an enormous thing about how, whenever women get together to try to enact political change, a man comes charging in to make it about him. But it’s a phenomenon worth keeping in the back of our minds.
Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
