2024 was a very modest, very cautious, very dystopian year. I started my annual review of last year by saying that it was the hottest year on record. And… guess what? 2024 will exceed 2023. hottest year on record. Many of the same extreme themes from last year also continue. Anti-abortion activists are still trying to roll back reproductive rights in the United States, and the dire situation for women in Iran and Afghanistan is only going to get worse.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip is still being destroyed, despite the fact that more and more experts are calling this bombing an “air strike”.genocide” – America continues to enable destruction, and much of the world continues to look the other way. The civil war in Sudan that began in April last year has expanded catastrophically. women and girls They are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.
This year hasn't been a bad year for women around the world. In pop culture, this year was (again) the year of Taylor Swift. The pop sensation's epic Elas Tour finally concluded in December with record ticket sales of $2 billion. Charli xcx also had a major year, giving us the much-awaited summer of slime green brats.
But even the combined star power of Swift (who endorsed her) and Charlie XCX (who declared “Kamala is a brat”) couldn't help Kamala Harris become the first female president of the United States . A million palm tree memes were also impossible. However, the US still appears reluctant to vote for women, with Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum winning in a landslide to become the country's first female president. And while Hayley Welch (better known as the “Taka Tua” girl) became the first woman to parlay a viral joke about oral sex into a lucrative brand empire that included a podcast and merchandising deals, she ended up with 4 involved in a $40 million fraud case virtual currency scandal.
To quote one of the most memorable phrases of the year, now is the time to “hold space” for everything that happens on your list. To close out 2024, here are 10 of the year's biggest and dumbest stories about patriarchy.
1. Donald Trump, legally defined as a sexual predator, was elected president of the United States again.
More than 27 women have accused the president-elect of sexual misconduct, and a jury in a civil lawsuit last year found Trump responsible for sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll. None of that seems to matter to the majority of Americans who enthusiastically voted for President Trump's “revenge language.” The convicted fraudster has already filled the White House with others accused of sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, his vice president, JD Vance, can't stop talking about the “childless cat lady.” And Trump's right-hand man, Elon Musk, is intrigued by the idea that Americans are obsessed with having as many children as possible and that women can't think freely because of “low T.” It seems like it is. What a wonderful time to be alive.
2. Access to abortion pills came under attack in the US
Medication abortions currently account for more than 60% of all abortions in the United States. This has made the common abortion drug mifepristone (usually used as part of a two-drug regimen in medication abortions) a prime target for anti-abortion activists. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt to roll back access to abortion pills, but states are still doing their best to make it difficult to obtain them. For example, Louisiana reclassified mifepristone and misoprostol as “controlled substances.”
3. France enshrines abortion as a constitutional right
The French took stock of everything that happened in the United States and, in a historic vote, vowed to fully protect the right to abortion in the constitution. Trevon.
4. The Taliban continued their war against Afghan women.
In Afghanistan, women are systematically excluded from all aspects of public life. This year, the Taliban took steps to ban women from training as nurses and midwives, among other restrictions. Women were prohibited from speaking or showing their faces outside the home. He then decided to resume publicly stoning women to death. UN experts say the Taliban's discriminatory system iscrimes against humanityIn a landmark move, the Taliban will be brought to the International Court of Justice on charges of gender discrimination.
5. Gisele Perico showed the world that “shame requires a turn of events.”
Gisele Perico said her husband of 50 years (now ex-husband) drugged her and invited at least 50, and possibly more than 80, strangers to rape her over nearly a decade. After discovering this, he gave up his right to anonymity and invited the world into his world. Trial. She said she was determined to “make a difference” in this “macho, patriarchal society that trivializes rape.” Dominique Perico, 72, was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, and a French court found all 50 co-accused of sex crimes guilty. Gisele became a feminist icon, inspiring millions and sparking a cleansing of rape culture.
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6. Paris 2024 was the first Olympics to achieve gender equality
When the Olympics were held in Paris in 1924 less than 5% Participants included women, who were only allowed to participate in “feminine” sports. A century later, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has declared the Paris 2024 Games #GenderEqualOlympics. call it equal It's a bit unreasonable, but Numerical gender equality At the stadium. And there were many memorable moments. Who can forget Ray Gun's kangaroo hop?
7. Iran announces 'treatment clinic' for women who don't follow strict hijab laws
Amid a crackdown on women deemed to be violating Iran's dress code, the opening of a Hijab Removal Clinic was announced in November and will provide “scientific and psychological treatment for hijab removal.” is. In other words, it becomes a prison.
8. More women and children were killed in Gaza than in any recent conflict.
An Oxfam analysis published in September found that more women and children were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip in the past year than in any other conflict over the same period. . past 20 years. According to one estimate, one child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza, and for 96% of children, death feels imminent.
9. Women in Sudan were exposed to systematic sexual violence.
The Sudanese civil war appears to have had a major impact. Enabled by UAEcausing a devastating humanitarian crisis, widespread hunger. UN experts say:amazingAmount of sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women. Men and boys in detention were also targets of sexual violence.
10. Mu Deng has gradually entered our hearts.
Adorable, unruly and incredibly moist, the baby pygmy hippopotamus has become a huge sensation. she got what's hers dance anthem (“Mooden Boing Boing / Boing Boing Boing Boing''); Correctly predicted US election. Launched 1 million memes. Featured At Saturday Night Live. and provided a huge amount of inspiration merchandise. Since it's 2024, her story also has a cryptocurrency twist. Co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin, who calls himself the hippo's “adoptive father”, donated about $294,000 to Mu Daeng Zoo. May the little hippo continue to thrive in 2025.
