Women, like 41-year-old mother and five time Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres, made a lot of headlines this year. However, we also made some incredible strides out of the swimming pool. In honor of all those hardworking, won’t take no for an answer kind of bad asses who made those achievements possible, here are the Top 5 Women’s Rights Wins of 2008:

1. Aborted Anti-Choice Legislation: As America enthusiastically voted in Obama, the overwhelming majority also rejected anti-abortion legislation that would have restricted women from their legal right to choose as dictated by Roe v. Wade. Way to go South Dakota, Colorado, and California!

2008 is almost history, and it definitely made some. We saw plenty of highs—the election of the first African-American President—and lows—the stock market dip—but as we look back at a year of extremes, our jaw still drops at these unbelievably shocking moments…

The guys at AskMen.com unveiled their list of the “49 Most Influential Men of 2008” and the results, voted on by their readers, may surprise you. Check out the full list and then, over the next two weeks, check out our picks for the “10 Most Influential Women of 2008”—The Frisky picked a female counterpart for each of the men in AskMen’s Top Ten. We hope you agree with our choices!

Sure, we lean straight, but there are definitely some women we gals at The Frisky are totally gay for. These seductive, successful ladies have got the look and we’ve got our eye on them. So in honor of the women that make us question our sexuality, here are our Top 10 Girl Crushes, after the jump…

Every four years, the Summer Olympics provide us with an inspiring display of physical and mental abilities. The athletes who get to compete are at the top of their games, whether that game is archery, swimming, Taekwondo, weightlifting, or any of the other 34 sports represented in this year’s Beijing Olympics. While we might obsess over models’ and actresses’ bodies in the years between the Games, right now there is absolutely no reason why any of us should be flipping through Vogue and dreaming of having a body like Kate Moss’s or Keira Knightley’s. The women vying for medals are a nice reminder that we don’t have to be tall and thin to be fabulous—heck, Kate could never even dream of winning a medal. Every sport emphasizes a different set of muscles, a different type of body. Even within particular sports, different proportions are represented. Take artistic gymnastics. All-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin is about 5’3” tall with long limbs, while Shawn Johnson is under 5’ and has more defined muscles. Let all of this be a lesson: Be happy with the booty, legs, back, and abs you’ve got, because the women competing in the Olympics—whether they’re short, tall, petite, big-boned, super muscular, or lithe—are using their bodies to do incredible things, and so should you.

Sure, there are plenty of stories in the news about women stabbing their husbands and the like, but there are also ladies who are doing spectacular things these days, especially right now with the Olympics going on. Below, ten fabulous females who make us proud.

Dara Torres
The oldest Olympic swimming medalist ever at 41, Dara Torres completed her fifth Olympic games this weekend with two silver medals, just missing a gold in the 50-meter freestyle. Not only did she prove that women can be competitive even as they get older (her age was more than the gold-and bronze-medal winners combined), but she’s also the ultimate working mother, with a two-year-old daughter named Tessa. [WSJ]

The Summer Olympics in Beijing kick off tonight with the Opening Ceremonies airing on NBC at 8pm. But when the fanfare and pageantry is over, it’s time for some serious competition featuring the roughest, toughest ladies from our great land. These amazing women will really bring out our inner patriot. So for the gals who inspire us all to keep kicking butt in our own lives because they do is so well for sport, here are the Top Five Female American Olympians!

1. The first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics, Dara Torres is like a fine wine that just gets better with age. Still showing us how it’s done at age 41, Torres has already won eight Olympic medals.