2014 has been a rollercoaster when it comes to news and current affairs. Between the G20, frightbats, the budget and shirt-fronting, we’ve found it hard to keep up at times. These are our ten most read news stories for 2014.
1. Not too long ago, Time magazine published its ‘worst words poll’ for 2014. Time wanted its readers to choose one word that should be “voted off the island” in 2015. The list included words like “turnt”, “bae” and “sorrynotsorry”. Among them was the word “feminist”. If Time wants to ban the word feminist, along with nonsense phrases like “I can’t even”, we decided to suggest some words we would like to ban. Words like “slut” and “pay gap” spring to mind. Which words do you think we should add to our worst words list?
2. A few weeks ago now, Mark Latham wrote a scathing column attacking Fairfax journalist Sarah MacDonald. The Australian Financial Review published the column, and then received a complaint from MacDonald and her husband about the insulting article. Guess who received a phone-call to discuss the issue first?
3. We all remember when Tony Abbott threatened to ‘shirt-front’ Vladamir Putin when he came to Brisbane for the G20 summit. Whatever Abbott’s motivations, a world leader using such aggressive language is problematic and dangerous, as Angela Priestley writes. Language is one of the things that continues to drive our biases and one leader threatening another with language like this exacerbates a host of social problems. There are a lot of ways Abbott could have chosen to describe his anger and grief about the MH17 tragedy, and ‘shirt-fronting’ was the wrong one.
4. This year we witnessed a groundswell of ‘women against feminism’. But do these women really understand what they are rallying against? The right to vote, the right to own property, the right to instigate a divorce, the right to education. If these women really are against feminism, they should forgo these rights and see how they fare. As Catherine Fox writes, feminism is not a club and there are no membership rules. You don’t have to hate men, you just have to hate unfairness.
5. Have you heard of frightbats? We hadn’t either until a few months ago. “They shriek, they rage, they cheer, they despair, they exult, they scream, they laugh, they cry! There’s never a non-emotional moment in the lives of Australia’s left-wing ladies’ auxiliary, whose psychosocial behavioural disorders are becoming ever more dramatic following Tony Abbott’s election,” according to journalist Tim Blair. His top contenders were Jenna Price, Van Badham, Anne Summers, Clementine Ford, Margo Kingston and Jane Caro. As Georgina Dent wrote, nothing they say or do is valid because they are crazy frightbats. Isn’t that a handy way to win an argument?
6. Gaming journalist Allanah Pearce has long been the victim of online harassment. But when #gamergate exploded and she started receiving more rape threats than ever, Pearce decided to take action. She started telling on young boys sending her rape threats – to their mothers.
7. Do you remember when Women’s Health decided to use these semi-naked models to make a mockery of women in sport? The models served only to prolong and exacerbate the objectification of female athletes, and to detract from their achievements and expertise. What we should have been doing was celebrating the women for their achievement in a still male-dominated field – without drawing attention to their bodies.
8. Recently, the Australian government submitted its fifth report to the UN Committee that upholds the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Let’s just say we didn’t do very well. Our government claimed that because violence against women is not directly committed by state officials, they are not responsible for it. “If the Australian government is not responsible for violence against women, it is the only country which is not,” the Committee responded. So is our government the only one in the world not willing to take responsibility for this public health problem?
9. This month, the Australian cricketing community was hit by tragedy when 25 year–old Phillip Hughes died in a freak accident on the pitch. The whole country – cricket fans and otherwise – was devastated by the news. Why did Hughes’ death affect us so deeply? Because it wasn’t just about cricket.
10. Mark Latham struck again. Last month the former Labor leader wrote a column for the Australian Financial Review denigrating Lisa Pryor for discussing the use of antidepressants. Pryor immediately asked for an apology from the AFR for publishing the column – as did most of the internet. Almost a full week later, the AFR’s editors responded. Lisa Pryor would be getting no apology. Mark Latham, on the other hand, got a spot on the front page the next day.
Who knows what 2015 will hold?