January

The new year got off to an impressive start with a headline that managed to blame childless women for the struggling economy, NHS meltdown and shorter life expectancies. Plague of locusts soon expected to follow.

February

US talk show host Wendy Williams criticised singer Kesha for speaking out about alleged sexual abuse: “If everybody complained because somebody allegedly sexually abused them ... contracts would be broken all the time.”

Kesha … under fire. Photograph: Noam Galai/Getty Images

March

In a month of inane cleavage obsession, everybody, from talented actresses to politicians, became obsessed with puns about their breasts. It made for an exciting new journalistic angle that delighted readers everywhere, and certainly didn’t make women want to stab their own eyes out.

April

The new junior doctors’ contract openly discriminated against women. Luckily, we were repeatedly reassured that “any indirect adverse effect on women is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”, which made women doctors feel much better. Meanwhile, April also saw legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman become the first woman in the world to be told, “give us a smile, love”, 100 years after her death, when her appearance on the new $20 bill wasn’t cheerful enough to satisfy some men.



May

Muirfield golf course proudly confirmed its utter lack of connection with the 21st century with a vote to keep female members out, only to later suffer cruel revenge when the female population of Edinburgh excluded its members from sitting on a particularly fetching park bench. Touché.



Women only … Muirfield gets a taste of its own medicine. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

June

The murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by rightwing terrorist Thomas Mair threw a spotlight on the ongoing abuse faced by large numbers of female MPs – and suggested that perhaps it might be dangerous to normalise violent threats as a way to silence an uppity woman in a position of power.



July

Leslie Jones received racist and misogynistic Twitter abuse for the cardinal sin of taking part in an all-female movie remake. Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire police’s decision to record misogyny as a hate crime was met with widespread panic, but fears of innocent men being locked up for compliments were proved misplaced when women instead reported abuse and assault.

August

Olympic commentators desperately competed for the honour of providing the “most sexist coverage”, and men worldwide were gifted some insightful advice about how to talk to women in the street, even when they are wearing headphones and might not want to talk to you. Meanwhile, France’s burkini ban proved that trying to score political points through the misogynistic policing of women’s bodies and choices never goes out of style.

September



A woman Nasa astronaut was “corrected” on Twitter by a man who had once been to space camp. He provided inspiration for another 2016 hero who later in the year challenged renowned Cambridge professor Mary Beard, mansplaining the fall of Rome, based on what he had seen in Gladiator.



October

Tapes were released in which Donald Trump boasted about grabbing women “by the pussy”. When women objected, #RepealThe19th began trending on Twitter, as Trump supporters effectively reassured them that there really wasn’t any misogyny to worry about after all. Meanwhile, footballer Ched Evans was acquitted of rape following the admission of evidence in court about his accuser’s sexual history. This news was met by online vitriol matched only by that spewed in her direction after he had been found guilty in his first trial.



The Moroccan TV channel offering advice on how to cover up evidence of domestic violence. Photograph: Channel 2M

November

Every woman in the world gave a sigh of recognition as Hillary Clinton was beaten by a man infinitely less qualified than her to do the same job. Meanwhile, Moroccan state TV made important strides towards eliminating domestic violence by showing a helpful programme showing women how to use make up to cover it up.



December

Article 50 claimant Gina Miller received a torrent of racist and sexist abuse online after making a legal challenge to Brexit, noted anti-feminist MP Philip Davies was elected to the commons’ Women and Equalities committee, and Fifa announced it had solved the problem of getting girls into football with nice-smelling bibs. And finally, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who pleaded guilty to battery charges after police said he punched and kicked his girlfriend 117 times in 2013 (although he disputes the extent of his assault) was given a great new job at a venture capital firm, while still awaiting sentencing. Because if 2016 has taught us anything, it’s that allegations of sexual assault don’t ruin a man’s career.