The Bechdel-Wallace test, inspired by Allison Bechdel in her comic, “Dykes To Watch Out For” in 1985 as a criticism of male-dominated movies, is a blunt inspection of female character dynamics and representation in various media. In order for a movie, book, or show to pass the Bechdel-Wallace test, they must meet three basic requirements, they must 1.) have at least two women in it, who 2.) talk to each other, about 3.) something other than a man. Though it seems like a simple assessment not difficult to complete, multiple works of fiction fail to achieve basic women representation with complex features.
(Source: “Dykes To Watch Out For”)
Allison Bechdel is often attributed as the sole creator of the test; however, she credits the idea to her friend Liz Wallace who mentioned the standard to Bechdel to create in her comic strip. Bechdel also attributes the idea to Virginia Woolf who, in “A Room of One’s Own”, wrote, “All these relationships between women, I thought, rapidly recalling the splendid gallery of fictitious women, are too simple”—and that the women of literature, contrary to the living, breathing, complex women of real life, are almost always depicted only “in their relation to men.”
The Bechdel-Wallace test is in no means the most perfect feminist method to measure gender inclusivity in media outlets, as there are works of fiction that may pass but still display negative gender stereotypes and lack diversity or pass on a technicality. However, the Bechdel -Wallace test has inspired an influx of new tests to emerge to address other gender stereotypes, gender imbalances and bias against race or ethnicities in media.
The DuVernay test, coined by film critic Manohla Dargis in honor of the filmmaker Ava DuVernay, questions whether African-Americans and other minorities have fully realized lives rather than serve as scenery in white stories. The Villalobos test, coined by Ligiah Villalobos, asks that there must be a Latina lead, and subsequently the lead — or another Latina character — must be shown as professional or college-educated, as well as speaking unaccented English, and must not be sexualized. There are also tests that look beyond the camera such as the Uphold test, coined by Rory Uphold, which questions whether the on-set crew is 50 percent women.
A great way to find out which films pass or fail the Bechdel-Wallace test, I highly recommend listening to The Bechdel Cast podcast. Each week hosts Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante examine a film to determine whether or not it passes the Bechdel Test and have done over 150 commentaries.
With the rise of female directors and growing gender diversity in the entertainment industry, hopefully, we see the expansion of women’s complexity and multi-dimensional personalities and traits shine in the big screens.