Singer Sam Smith has spoken of being ‘at war’ with his gender; future Brit awards could be non-binary

The organisers of Britain’s biggest music awards, the Brits, are looking at abolishing gender categories, just days after the singer Sam Smith revealed he was changing the personal pronoun he uses to refer to himself to “they/them”.

Since the first Brits in 1977, it has had separate gongs for male and female solo artists. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) trade body, which organises the awards, is looking at ways to accommodate musicians who define themselves as non-binary — neither male nor female.

One of the options it is looking at is to make all the awards gender-neutral.

Currently the best group, best newcomer and best album at the Brits are all gender-neutral, but solo artist remains split into male and female.

Transgender rights activists say