The BBC has recovered slightly from last year's gaffe in which they nominated a Giant Panda and Pippa Middleton's ass as their 'Faces of the Year in 2011'. Frankly, I'm not sure which one I find less convincing as a 'Face of the year'. Or, more misogynistic. The inclusion of Sweetie the Panda at the expense of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Lehmay Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman was, simply, unforgivable; you know, the three women who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year because of their achievements and not because a deeply misogynistic press decided to objectify the body of a woman whose only 'crime' was that her sister married The Patriarchal Prince. Obviously, the BBC came back with the excuse that they chose 12 'women' who made the most headlines, which is a pile of nincompoopery of epic proportions. A Giant Panda did not choose to be moved half way across the planet and end up on the cover of every newspaper. Pippa Middleton did not chose to be the victim of global sexual harassment. The BBC chose to run such asinine 'stories' as real news at the expense of covering actual news.
I wouldn't get over-excited by this year's 'Women Faces of the Year', as ever a number of the women included are because of their relationship to men; others because they were made into public spectacles.
These are the BBC 'Women Faces of the Year' for 2012:
Maria Colvin: An award-winning war correspondent killed in the Syrian Uprising.
Malala Yousafzai: A young girl shot by the Taliban as a punishment for her campaign for girls' education.
Nicola Adams: The first woman to win gold in Olympic Boxing.
Claire Squires: A runner whose death during the London Marathon lead to people donating £1m to charity.
Laina Walker: A fangirl who made a creepy Youtube video of Justin Bieber to win a contest.
Samantha Brick: A journalist made an object of derision by the Daily Mail.
Marissa Mayer: A businesswoman who became CEO of Yahoo whilst 6 months pregnant.
Rachel Onasanwo: The Olympics "Happiest Volunteer".
Pussy Riot: Russian punk feminists.
Gina Rinhart: The World's 'richest' woman.
Lydia Callis: The New York mayor's sign language interpreter.
Paula Broadwell: A woman who had sex with the head of the CIA.
Some of these women belong on this list and some are only on it because of patriarchal hypocrisy within the BBC. But, really, including Samantha Brick who was the target of a very successful smear campaign by the Daily Mail? Are we now including women whose claim to fame is their status as the quintessential Circus Freak Show? Paula Broadwell was included because she had sex with a man? And, why are we including a woman who made a creepy video about Justin Bieber? Are these really the best examples that the BBC could come up with? How are their 'accomplishments' on par with Malala Yousafzai and Maria Colvin?
Where's Hillary Clinton?
Or, Lauren Wolfe and Gloria Steinem who founded Women Under Siege?
Or, any number of the millions of women across the world who have incredible and inspiring things this year?
On the other hand, the BBC's list of 'Male Faces of the Year' includes a dog.
Maybe, the BBC just gets confused and runs it's April Fools joke on the wrong day.
I can't tell anymore.
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