How many major Hollywood films actually pass the Bechdel test?
Are there at least two women in it? Do they talk to each other? Do they talk about something more than a man?
Cartoonist Alison Bechdel created the Bechdel test to judge gender equality in works of fiction. Comedian Dani Faith Leonard has taken Bechdel’s mission a step further with her new series Swapped, which gender-swaps women into roles traditionally held by men on the silver screen.
The first episode placed a well-known scene from American Psycho under scrutiny. Jared Leto’s iconic character Paul Allen is portrayed by the same actress who inspired our childhood imaginations in the title role of Matilda: playwright and feminist Mara Wilson.
This first clip sheds light on the inequality of women in the workplace, from boardrooms to film sets. It sends a creative, outspoken message. Women can do anything men can do, with or without heels.