Vote For Jezebel's Woman Of The Year

The nominations for Jezebel’s Woman of the Year are in, and while it was a tough decision, we’ve managed to narrow the field down to eight frontrunners. Read more about them below, then cast your vote!

Hillary Clinton: The Secretary of State was one of the most popular nominees. For an endorsement, you couldn’t do much better than happy_seal’s:

She just gets shit done. She’s been a great face for America in a year of global turmoil, while at the same time supporting women’s rights here at home. And, while this didn’t happen this year, I love the fact that, when she was confirmed as secretary of state, she immediately took steps to extend benefits to same-sex partners – again, without fanfare, without a lot of grand speeches. She just did it.

Mona Eltahawy: Of this journalist and activist who wrote that she was brutal beaten and sexual assaulted by Egyptian police, blondebunny says, “I nominate Mona Eltahawy because she not only endured and reported her physical and sexual abuse while being detained by the Egyptian police, but acknowledged that her public persona and international prominence likely saved her life — privilege that other Egyptians did not have.”

Leymah Gbowee: All this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners got some support from commenters, but we chose Gbowee due to LaChavalina’s endorsement: “As if winning a Nobel Prize and being generally awesome was not enough, she was also very active this year in raising awareness about women and conflict, participating in the Women, War, and Peace series, doing live chats on Twitter, showing up all over the media.”

Gabrielle Giffords: There was lots of support in the comments for Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who’s made an inspiring recovery from a gunshot wound in January to vote on the floor of the House and watch her husband’s space shuttle launch. In November, Margaret wrote, “at this point we’d love to vote for Giffords for Congress, president, Miss America, American Idol, or whatever she wants to run for.” Why not Woman of the Year?

Melissa McCarthy: ohMaria nominates Melissa McCarthy for Comedienne of the Year and offers her Spanx story as support. Her non-Spanx-related accomplishments this year include winning an Emmy, delivering a hilarious performance in Bridesmaids, and serving as a model of confidence and awesomeness to all.

Iman al-Obeidi: This Libyan law student got lots of nominations for her bravery in reporting her alleged rape by 15 of Qaddafi’s government thugs, and weathering the smear campaign that ensued. Her efforts led the International Criminal Court to investigate the Qaddafi regime for using rape as a weapon of war. Says ohmaria, “courage is too small a word to describe what she has.”

Elizabeth Warren: Massachusetts Senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren’s response to this Tea Party heckler who called her a whore is a pretty great example of grace under pressure. The Harvard professor, former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and longtime advocate for the needs of average Americans as opposed to big corporations is currently beating Scott Brown in polls.

Dr. X: Several of you nominated Dr. X, the anonymous abortion doctor who travels the country in a mask to avoid being targeted by anti-choice terrorists. Says BattleforGallifrey, “Reproductive rights are ever more scarily under attack. She’s a hero, literally putting her life at risk to help women.”

Polls close at midnight on Thursday, Dec. 29, so make sure to cast your vote for Woman of the Year before then!