FWR women of the year

[ErrolTheDragon]

It's the time of the year for lists and retrospectives, so let's compile our FWR Women of the Year.

Suggested guidelines (not rules):
No fictional women
Women valued for something more than appearance or entertainment value
Can (should?) include women who we don't all agree with or necessarily admire.

@SonEtLumiere

Has anyone mentioned Selina Soule the young athlete in Connecticut who is fighting for women’s right to fair participation in sports.

That’s a great shout. Putting herself in the spotlight at such a young age having to point out the bleedin’ obvious in the face of some of the worst reality denial going around.

Chelsea Miller another brave teen working with Selina to save women's sports

Ozlem Tureci, co founder of BioNTech, vaccine saviour! What a story she has. Can’t see if she’s been mentioned.

Posthumous award to the notorious RBG.

And I’d like to nominate Janice Turner at least a dozen times

Ozlem Tureci, co founder of BioNTech, vaccine saviour! What a story she has. Can’t see if she’s been mentioned.

In my first set of nominations, second post of the thread.

But some of these awesome women deserve multiple mentions.

Sorry Errol, I have the attention span of a goldfish some days

I'd definitely vote for Ozlem Tureci as overall winner. From my reading about her she also seems like a wonderful human being who has been doggedly pursuing this new vaccine science for years despite everyone telling her it will never work. And now she's nailed it she's not interested in the fame and glory, she just wants to get the job done. A true inspiration.

So many amazing women listed! I would like to echo those who mentioned these Irish feminists:

Stella O’Malley

Iseult White

Laoise Uí Aodha de Brún

Leeds "thought criminal" group

Miss A, who is challenging the CPS on their hate crime guidance for schools.

Sarah Phillimore

Seconded. That woman quietly carries on doing good work across a range of areas related to Child Protection despite seeming to attract a constant stream of dickheads online. I wonder what could possibly motivate people to hate a CP Barrister?

Really, though, I think the overall woman of the year has to be Keira. Her victory is the biggest I think we've had and she did it in such an unselfish way against seemingly insurmountable opposition.

How does this work?
Errol are you counting the mentions and basically making a talley from the thread? Are there runner ups?

There are so many to choose, but right now I'll simply say JK Rowling (I might add more later).

I got The Ickabog for my son for Xmas, the fact she chose all those children's drawings to publish in the book, imagine being one of those children, and she did it during pandemic and TRA overload year, she's amazing xx

Of course. Keira Bell. Incredible.

I wasn't planning on compiling a spreadsheet or rankings, Gncq. If anyone else has the inclination feel free!

We've already got a list that's way better than some of the offerings we've seen from elsewhere this year.

So many great women on this list. Also various people banned for standing up women's rights in the literary field - sure others can help me out on names here, but I'll include Jenny Lindsay, Rachel Rooney, Amanda Craig. Sure there are others too.

Very disappointed to see Diane Abbott on this list, who has gone out of her way to support virulent, vile anti-Semites in the last year. Nothing great about that.

Not very original but I also nominate JK Rowling as an all round awesome individual. A woman who had already achieved so much but who reached legend status in 2020 imo. Not only did she put herself on the line to fight for our rights, but she showed such strength to withstand the foul and ongoing backlash. It drove the misogynists wild that she could not be cancelled and their bile grew increasingly poisonous but still she holds firm and maintains both her principled stance and her dignity. All this while donating huge sums to charity and entertaining the kiddos in lock down with her Ickabog contest.

Sigh, she’s so fab. Not just woman of the year but woman of the past decade in my view. I am quite the fan in case you hadn’t noticed! Determined, principled, brave, clever and kind, what an absolute star.

I also like Suzanne Moore who deserves credit for sticking it out as long as she did at the Guardian and also fighting hard against the bullshit. Can you imagine how toxic the workplace must have been for her with the vast majority of her colleagues seething with anger that she had a different view, and plotting against her. All culminating in that awful letter and the fact that her editor just stood by and let her be bullied out of the workplace. Talk about bloody hypocrisy Guardian. I don’t always agree with her, but I sure do on the feminist topics and her departure was the final straw for me...cancelled my long standing Guardian subscription and signed up with the Times instead - glad I did, much better journalism all round.

Also Keira of course.

Have you seen this on twitter? Jayne McCubbin from the BBC is making a story about high profile ordinary heroes, and would like to include more women. Care to nominate anyone?twitter.com/JayneMcCubbinTV/status/1341473612868575232?s=20

@ErrolTheDragon

I wasn't planning on compiling a spreadsheet or rankings, Gncq. If anyone else has the inclination feel free!

We've already got a list that's way better than some of the offerings we've seen from elsewhere this year.

This sounds good. I could do it for a New Years Eve thread.

Let me know if you are happy for me to do this.

Go for it! maybe have a few different categories?

@ErrolTheDragon

Go for it! maybe have a few different categories?

Great.

What kind of categories? Are you thinking Science, Politics, Sports, Social Media etc. and then an overall winner?

That sort of thing - journalism too? Any other category suggestions anyone?

"Shining A Light" category? Someone like JKR or Kiera or Abigail Shrier.

I nominate Maya Forstater as well for continuing her legal case which will be hugely impactful for women AND for blogging amazingly with brilliant references to resources, her absolutely must-read 2020 in review latest example, is discussed in this thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4113927-Maya-Forsters-update-on-2020-legal-cases-I-lost-my-job-for-talking-about-womens-rights

I'd like to nominate Kathleen Stock as feminist thinker of the year. Of everything I've read, I find Dr Stock's writing to be the most considered and coherent and to really challenge and further the GC school of thought. I also really admire that she always stays true to her principles, never makes sweeping assertions or judgements about people and never retaliates in the face of what has been really horrible bullying. I honestly don't know how she does it but she's a real asset to GC feminism.