Bechdel test
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
After cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of a 1985 Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip that popularized the test. Reportedly first used in 2007.[1]
Proper noun[edit]
- A feminist test for evaluating a work of fiction by whether it contains (i) at least two women (especially, named female characters) (ii) who talk to each other (iii) about something other than a man.
- 2019 September 5, Jessica Sternfeld, Elizabeth L. Wollman, The Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Musical, Routledge, →ISBN:
- Finally, the percentage of musicals that pass the Bechdel test but not the jobs test has also remained consistent―at under 10% for the entire 75 years studied. These results imply that it is far more likely for a musical to pass the Bechdel test if a female character is employed in it; perhaps having a focus other than men for a character aids in more progressive portrayals.
Synonyms[edit]
- (feminist test): Bechdel-Wallace test
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ “Bechdel test”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.