Glamour’s Woman of the Year Angers Widower

Do you ever wonder what the last generation of feminists would have thought about the transgender movement? Is it not counter to everything they believed in? How is it that feminism now encompasses not just women but also men who choose to live their lives as women? And if it’s true that anyone can choose to be any gender they want at any time, then what sense does it make to have a movement focused on furthering the status of women? Or to make broad claims about women’s oppression and the gender pay gap? If things are so tough, why not cut your hair, put on a business suit, and change your name to Bob? Problem solved!

But it’s best not to think about this kind of stuff too deeply. One, it’s a waste of time better spent elsewhere. Two, you’re applying logic to something that bears no resemblance to logic. You may as well spend your time wondering why raccoons keep knocking over your trash can, even though you don’t put food inside. They do it because something inside them tells them to do it. And if you think that feminists should have better sense than raccoons, you too are suffering from delusions.

But to laugh about it. Well, why not?

And so you might have laughed when Glamour Magazine gave their Woman of the Year Award to Caitlyn Jenner last month. Predictable. Pandering. Utterly ridiculous. What else can you do but laugh?

One man isn’t laughing, though. James Smith, whose wife Moira received the same award posthumously in 2001, is now returning that award to the magazine. In an open letter to the publishers, Smith said, “I was shocked and saddened to learn that Glamour has just named Bruce Jenner ‘Woman of the Year.’ Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man?”

Moira Smith was killed on September 11, 2001 – one of 23 NYPD officers who perished while trying to rescue victims from the World Trade Center.

“After discussing this slap in the face to the memory of our Hero with my family, I have decided to return Moira’s award to Glamour magazine.” Smith wrote.

A spokesperson for the magazine said, “We stand by our decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner. Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards recognize women with a variety of backgrounds and experiences.”

You can say that again. Perhaps next year, they can give the award to Barack Obama or Russell Crowe. How far, indeed, can we stretch the definition of “women?”

If it’s as far as we’ve stretched the definition of words like “champion” and “hero,” Glamour’s next Woman of the Year might very well be a rhinoceros or even a pencil.

And again, what can you do but laugh?