H/T to my friend Laura for sending HuffPo’s article about the 50 Best Moments in 2011 for Women.  It is definitely a great way to reflect on 2011 by looking at some of the positives that have happened for women throughout the year.  I thought I’d take a second to highlight some of my  personal favorites:

1. “The release of the new documentary ‘MissRepresentation’ makes everyone who thinks they’ve heard it before refocus on how badly the media depicts women — and how we can change that.”
2. “When the announcer called the name of the first nominee for Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2011 Emmy Awards, Amy Poehler, instead of smiling at the camera from her seat, charged onto the stage … and every other nominee did, too. Before the winner was even announced, Poehler, Melissa McCarthy (the ultimate winner), Tina Fey, Edie Falco, Laura Linney and Martha Plimpton held hands tightly in beauty pageant fashion, making even an award for best comedian into a spoof — and proving their extraordinary talent (yet again) in the process.”
   
3. “After years of objections from women’s rights advocates, the FBI advisory board recommends a broader definition of rape. Currently defined by the agency as “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” — wording composed in 1929 — the board votes to change the terminology to “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim,” which notably doesn’t include the word “forcible.” It’s now up to FBI Director Robert Mueller to sign off on the decision.”
4. “The comedy women and bridal attendants everywhere have been waiting for: “Bridesmaids” pulls no punches in portraying all of the regrettable situations a single woman can get herself into. Wiig’s script has her and the rest of the stellar cast (Maya Rudolph as the bride, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey as fellow bridesmaids) vomiting and discussing other bodily functions in a way not usually seen in comedies starring women, and the result is brilliant and hilarious — the ultimate antidote to schlock like “27 Dresses.” As several critics pointed out, female comedians have been capable of making a movie like this all along – it’s only now that someone let them.”
5. “After an Iowa town hall meeting in which Mitt Romney seemed not to understand a question about the Mississippi “personhood” amendment, which opponents feared could lead to a ban on oral contraceptives, Rachel Maddow spends a segment of her show explaining to Romney how the female reproductive system and birth control work — against a “man cave” background.”
   
6. “Per the Affordable Care Act, all health insurance policies issued after January 1, 2013 must cover birth control — with no copays. The same provisions will cover breast pumps for nursing mothers, domestic violence counseling and a number of other women’s health services. What took them so long?”
7. “In a Toys”R”Us store in Albany, N.Y., 4-year-old Riley Maida just can’t take it anymore and lets loose a frighteningly articulate rant about toy marketers targeting kids by gender. “Why do all the girls have to buy princesses? Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses,” she says, reasonably. “Some boys like superheroes, some boys like princesses. So why does all the girls have to buy pink stuff and all the boys have to buy different color stuff?”