GQ US Slams GQ UK Magazine For Naming Kim Kardashian Woman Of The Year
Uh-oh... all is not well in the land of Gentlemen's Quarterly. And we know whose side we're on!
When Kim Kardashian won British GQ Magazine's token "Woman Of The Year" Award last week, we all let out a collective groan in the Yahoo Lifestyle office.
We do love us a bit of Kim, but considering the many female philanthropists, scientists, or even those in the entertainment business who have built their careers upon years of talent and training, we all felt that there were many women more worthy of being celebrated.
And judging by some of your tweets, we weren't alone in thinking that the accolade might have been better conferred on someone else.
GQ named Kim Kardashian #WomanOfTheYear. I'm not sorry for saying this but that's f**king bulls**t.
— kountry1983 (@kountry1983) September 4, 2014
Of all the high-achieving, talented women out there, Kim Kardashian wins #WomanOfTheYear? Please.
— Sarah Gibbons (@SarahGibbons_) September 3, 2014
@TheInsider @KimKardashian I'm still trying to figure out Kim's contribution to the world? What's her skill? #Insider
— Ken Like Barbie (@kenlikebarbie) September 3, 2014
Well, in this morning's surprise news, it seems that there are some other quite important people out there, who are equally as confused (actually, they seem really quite annoyed) about the whole thing.
And that's the American version of the magazine.
As GQ US's Twitter handle has been used, by mistake, in so many angry tweets about Kim K's lack of deserving, the American magazine have begun to hit back.
To tweets lamenting the British magazine's choice, the US magazine has been sending out replies like this:
Good morning, citizens of the UK. We’re still GQ US, and we still gave no awards. Congratulations on the new royal baby, though.
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 8, 2014
@stevecook_32 you're talking to the wrong magazine. We didn't give out any awards.
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 8, 2014
They seem PRETTY adamant about this:
@sexysportsfan we didn’t name any woman of the year.
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 8, 2014
And, before they get shouty, you'd better heed this one last warning guys:
@JiniaJiJiang @maleen__ this is GQ US. We gave no such award.
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 5, 2014
We wish we could be a fly on the wall at GQ HQ this morning, we imagine there'll be some fun phone calls going on.
So what's the takeaway here?
That GQ US are a pillar of modern feminism? Well no, not really, most of their imagery still looks like this:
Wishing you an especially happy birthday, @beyonce: http://t.co/s5UIpHRrIR pic.twitter.com/IpaCTlvCGG
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 4, 2014
HOWEVER, they are trying.
In their most recent Ten Things We Learned About Women This Week they celebrate a 60-year-old Ellen Barkin for refusing to be retouched in photos, a female student who is taking a stand against rape crimes, and a model challenging negative body stereotypes.
They acknowledge the presence of strong, outspoken women who are contributing to the society around them.
Even more embarassingly for GQ UK, their awards last Tuesday were followed the next day by Red Magazine's Women of the Year Awards.
An occasion which was a brilliant counterbalance for the previous night's events.
At the Red Magazine awards, for which Yahoo Lifestyle were in attendance, we watched as Laura Bates received an award for her Everyday Sexism campaign.
We also watched as one of our favourite columnists - who has written several brilliant books about what it means to be a woman in the modern age - Caitlin Moran, presented an award to Daughters of Eve founders Leyla Hussein and Nimko Ali.
Daughters of Eve is an incredible non-profit organisation, which works incredibly hard to protect girls from and educate the world about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Among the other women who were feted that evening were Dr Selina Wray, who is working hard to research cures for dementia and Anne-Marie Imafidon, who founded Stemettes, which encourages young women in scientific education.
What this awards ceremony served to show, where GQ UK failed, is that there are myriad women out there who are working tirelessly and fruitfully in many different, important disciplines - and none of them involve selfie-taking.
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If you had one vote, who would you crown your #YAHOOWOMANOFTHEYEAR? Join the conversation on Twitter!