It’s no secret that Hollywood has a long history of sexism entangled in its success. It has been, and still is, a field vastly dominated by men in both directing and acting roles. According to a recent study from SDSU, male-speaking characters outnumber their female counterparts by 63 percent to 37 percent in the 100 highest-grossing domestic films of 2022.Â
Women are not only underrepresented in the media, but the way they are portrayed is often full of misogyny. A SheKnows list describes a list of 31 one-dimensional female character types that filmmakers tend to fall back on. These range from the classic imperiled damsel in distress to crazy ex-girlfriends, evil stepsisters and inappropriate older women. The common thread between many of these roles for women is that they drive action by affecting other characters, rather than showing off their own thoughts, feelings or development. With far less than half of speaking roles going to women and so many of those parts being thinly drawn, it’s clear that representation is less than ideal.Â
Because of this lack of representation, creating characters that encompass the rich diversity of humanity is particularly pertinent to screenwriting, where representation really does matter. Although gender inclusivity in the media has long been questionable at best, feminist media analysis has helped pave the way for more inclusive on-screen portrayals of gender. One version of this analysis is the Bechdel test, which addresses unintentional bias and representational imbalance.Â
What is the Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test is a measure of the representation of women in film and other forms of fiction. The test essentially names the following three criteria:
- The movie must have at least two women in it.
- The women must talk to each other.
- Their discussion must be about something other than a man.
Critics have revised and updated the Bechdel Test to suggest that the female characters should be named, say more than five words to each other and share more than a minute of screen time; however, the three original rules continue to be commonly used to assess gender representation.Â
The Bechdel Test first appeared in a 1985 strip of “Dykes to Watch Out For,” a long-running comic by cartoonist and writer Alison Bechdel. The comic depicts two queer women discussing movies, and one declares that she will only see a film if it meets a certain set of requirements involving female characters. Though Bechdel described the test as “a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper,” it entered into the critical conversation decades later as a barometer to use when thinking about gender representation in media.Â
It may or may not be surprising to you that about 40 percent of films do not pass the Bechdel Test. Some of these movies include:Â
- “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
- The entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001-2003)
- “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (2011)
- “The Avengers” (2012)
- “Gravity” (2013)Â
- “Ratatouille” (2007)
- “A Star is Born” (2018)
- “Avatar” (2009)
Movies that do pass the Bechdel Test include:
- “Frozen” (2013)
- “Hidden Figures” (2016)
- “Twilight” (2008)
- “The Hunger Games” (2012)
- “Bridesmaids” (2011)
- “Wonder Woman” (2017)
- “Barbie” (2023)
- “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)
Realistically, the Bechdel Test is still flawed. After all, some films pass the test but still feature questionable—or downright sexist—portrayals of women. The test itself is quite broad since what counts as a conversation isn’t clearly defined. A frivolous comment or derogatory line could effectively allow a movie to pass, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the film authentically represents women. Furthermore, the Bechdel Test does not touch on issues of intersectionality by questioning race, sexuality, disability or class.Â
The Bechdel Test stands as a stark reflection of the historical underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in cinema. While the film industry has made strides in recent years, with notable successes challenging the traditional narrative, there is still much work to be done. The voices of women, both in front of and behind the camera, continue to face obstacles. Although the Bechdel Test has its limitations, it remains a strong starting point for discussion around gender representation in film.