Lucy V Hay: Relying on the Bechdel Test
The Bechdel test (now known as The Bechdel-Wallace Test) asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women “who talk to each other about something other than a man”. The Bechdel test is named for the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel and this idea appeared in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. The test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in films, as well as to call attention to gender inequality in fiction due to sexism. I have also been in talks and threads online where it is related to television shows and even novels now.
Contrary to popular belief, I actually think it can be really useful, especially for those who have never considered gender roles and characters in fiction before. I have taught many classes and workshops where I have mentioned this test, so I’ve seen new writers’ eyes light up as they recognise inequality between characters. This is obviously great.
I am, however, frustrated by modern audiences seeming reliance on it. At the end of the day, The Bechdel Test is a thirty-year-old joke in a comic strip, not some deep analysis of where we’re going wrong in female characterisation. Because of the fact it’s just a joke, The Bechdel Test cannot include important factors in female characterisation, such as:
A considered story choice in isolating a female protagonist is to make her journey more perilous. Doing so means your project can’t pass The Bechdel Test – ie. Ryan Stone in Gravity, or Amber in Deviation . Simply counting women does not guarantee effective - or even interesting – characterisation either.
Sometimes a female secondary character is the only one in a group in an otherwise male-centric environment. This is usually to underline notions of sexism in the workplace, such as Lindsay in The Abyss who works on an oil rig; or female fishing captain Linda in A Perfect Storm. In both stories, the women have the answers for the men ... if the men JUST LISTENED. This is arguably an authentic representation of the ongoing battle between the sexes regarding communication, but again: neither film would pass Bechdel.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio starring as Captain Linda Greenlaw in The Perfect Storm
If the majority of female characters are secondary characters (and they are, because there are more male-centric stories than female-centric ones) then OF COURSE they’re talking about a man ... They’re talking about the male protagonist! We see this in The Wolverine, when Mariko and Yukio discuss Logan’s motivation for meeting with their master, which is necessary exposition for understanding what happens next.
I have other issues with The Bechdel Test, but these are the three main ones. My issue with it is not that we shouldn’t be examining stories for sexism, but rather The Bechdel Test is too narrow a framework in which to do so.
IN A NUTSHELL: The Bechdel Test is a starting point for thinking about female characterisation – nothing more, nothing less.
To read the complete guide for free, sign up to author Lucy V Hay's email list and download the full ebook.
Lucy is an author and script editor based in Devon, UK. Her blog, Bang2write, was voted no.1
in the Write Life’s Top 100 Blogs for Writers list in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Lucy’s third novel, The Other
Twin, is available to buy in paperback, and as an ebook and audiobook: http://www.lucyvhayauthor.