See results for the first-ever UltraViolet Best and Worst Awards!
This was a big year for women, and the competition is fierce. From sexist song lyrics to badass Supreme Court opinions, from terrible journalists to flawless feminist icons–2014 was full of surprises, good and bad.
The winner in the category of Women’s Rights Superstar will receive, in addition to unending admiration and gratitude, a Golden Femmy. It’s like a Grammy, but better (obviously).
And don’t worry, we won’t leave this years biggest sexist empty-handed. The winner of the Sexist of the Year Award will receive a Rush Limbaugh Sexist of the Year “trophy” and a binder full of women’s rights educational materials.
Winner! What is there to say? Hobby Lobby, get the message–a woman’s health decision is between her and her doctor. Not her and her boss. This isn’t over yet.
He’s still saying awful stuff! In 2014 Rush said that Florida State University football star and accused rapist Jameis Winston could “expect a standing ovation” for standing up on a campus table and shouting “F*ck her right in the p*ssy!” to passersby. What a gem, right?
As publisher of The New York Times, he fired the paper’s first female executive editor after she asked why she was getting paid less than her male predecessors. And he STILL hasn’t committed to pay transparency.
While the new NFL domestic violence policy may be a sign of progress, Roger Goodell has shown time and time again that he puts the profits of team owners way ahead of the safety of women.
After publishing an expose about a horrific rape at a frat party at the University of Virginia, Rolling Stone editor Will Dana wrote that his “trust [of the survivor] was misplaced” because the fraternity objected to the story. Gross.
Winner! The Notorious R.B.G. has been an inspiration for years, but in 2014 she really nailed it with her dissenting opinion on the Hobby Lobby case.
The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner ever may have suffered a gunshot wound to the head by the Taliban, but that’s not stopping her from advocating for education for Pakistani girls.
When male legislators declared war on women’s reproductive rights, Ohio State Senator Nina Turner introduced a bill that would require a consultation with a sex therapist and cardiac stress test before a man can receive Viagra, saying “I want to legislate [men’s health] the same way mostly men say they want to legislate a woman’s womb.” BOOM.
The first transgender person to be on the cover of Time, the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy, a fierce advocate for trans women, and a main character on the super-popular television show, Orange is the New Black–this year was all about Laverne Cox breaking barriers.
The director and producer behind Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, she’s putting women of color front-and-center on primetime while shattering stereotypes and glass ceilings. And she won’t take any sexist, racist, or homophobic comments without a response that leaves her critics speechless.