Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test is a good tool, and it reveals a level of sexism more profound and more prevalent than most of us would have guessed. But it's like BMI, it's not to be used as a judgment on a specific subject, it's a judgment on the whole culture in which it exists.

In other words, we shouldn't critique individual shows based on their ability to pass the Bechdel test, there are lots of reasons why it might not. Instead, we should look at the larger world of media as a whole and condemn it for having so few products that pass.

Has anyone compiled numbers on the male version? It must be nearly universal.