"If it were not for gender discrimination, we could expect that roughly half the winners of Best Male Vocalist would be women," said Colleen Hyphenated-Lastname, president of POW. "Obviously the playing field is not level. We reject the notion that throughout its entire history, the Grammys could not find qualified women to nominate for Best Male Vocalist. What about Anne Murray?"
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname granted an exclusive interview to the Per Broadcasting System to explain POW's stance on discrimination inthe Grammys.
Question: Why is it important that women be allowed to compete for Best Male Vocalist?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Excluding women because of their sex is always wrong. It's discrimination, and it reinforces traditional gender roles. The only reason that women are not allowed to compete for Best Male Vocalist is because of the male egos of people like Elton John and Vince Gill, who can't stand the idea that they might lose to a woman.
Question: But there are separate categories for Best Female Vocalist.
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Of course! After all these years of discrimination by men, women need a safe and supportive category where they can grow.
Question: But if we let women compete for Best Male Vocalist, should we allow men to compete for Best Female Vocalist?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Absolutely not. Women are entitled to institutions where men are barred or discouraged from entering. Such groups include shelters, health clubs, universities, professional organizations, and the Democratic Party.
Question: You demand that women be admitted to the men's group but men not be admitted to the women's group. Is there a legal precedent for that?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Yes. A few years ago, there were 80-some women-only colleges in the United States and only two men-only colleges -- namely The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute. Today, The Citadel and VMI have been forced to admit women. But the women's schools are not required to admit men.
Question: Do you have a specific name for that policy?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Fairness.
Question: What do you foresee happening once women can enter the Best Male Vocalist category?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: We hope to see women making up about 58 percent of the people in that category while still getting special preferences as a minority group.
Question: Is there a precedent for that?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Sure. It's just the same as withcollege enrollment.
Question: Do you think that merely opening the Best Male Vocalist category to women will be sufficient?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Obviously not. It's going to take a long time to rectify the damage done by decades of discrimination against women. We are going to need to give women special advancement in this category. In fact, we already know who should be the next Best Male Vocalist. And we want to say in advance that this is not a case of nominating an unqualified woman.
Question: And you do you intend it should be?
Ms. Hyphenated-Lastname: Fran Drescher.