The Bechdel Test

This is one you may have seen making the rounds on feminist blogs of late: Feminist Frequency's video about the Bechdel Test. I've been advertisement-focused on this blog thus far, but the lack of substantial female representation in entertainment media is definitely something that bears scrutiny. The Bechdel Test was created by Alison Bechdel, who wrote and illustrated Dykes To Watch Out For and Fun Home. A movie or television show passes the Bechdel Test if it

1: Contains two or more women who have names
2: These woman talk to each other
3: These women talk to each other about something other than a man

Doesn't sound too rigorous, does it? You may be surprised by just how many movies and television shows are not able to pass this test. This lack of representation is a huge problem! It renders invisible women in general, specifically women with interests other than men (like, for example, non-heterosexual women! And let me tell you- as a queer woman, not having any real representation in the media definitely DOES have an impact on me, and I definitely DO feel invisible much of the time). Throw race into the mix, as The Angry Black Woman has in her blog post here, and the dearth of representation becomes even more marked.

Food for thought.