Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test, coined by writer Allison Bechdel is a test for the presense of female characters in media, and if they are there for any meaningful reason. Applying the Bechdel test to anything involves asking the following questions:


1. The movie has to have at least two women in it,
2. Who talk to each other,
3. About something besides a man.

Many of the most popular films around do not pass this test, as women do not have that many speaking roles, especially significant speaking roles in films and media today. A piece of media could have a great, well written female character in it that would surely seem like they would pass any test of sexism/feminism - but if they are the only female character, or speaking character in that, then they would immediately fail. A piece of media may pass the test but still have underdeveloped characters and misogynistic themes throughout it, which shows the limitations of the test. It is still an interesting concept to consider when looking at feminism in media and the presence of female characters. As the feminist discussion is becoming a larger part of my essay, I think that looking into this in the animations I am discussing might be a good idea.