We Have To Move On From The Bechdel Test

For the last two decades, the Bechdel Test has caused a great deal of discussion amongst feminists and film critics alike. Originating from Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For comics in 1985, the test is easy to use and has been applied to nearly all mainstream films and, somewhat surprisingly, a number of Dr. Who episodes.

To pass the test, the film or episode has to have:

1.      At least two (named) women

2.      Who talk to each other

3.      About something other than a man

It’s a pretty low bar to set, yet most films released today will not pass it.

“The test has been an effective consciousness-raising tool, alerting movie-goers and the general public to the under-representation and misrepresentation of female characters.” Says Dr Martha Lauzen, Executive Director of the Centre for Study of Women in Television and Film. “It is very simple to use and that, I think, is why it has gained such popularity.”

To an extent the results of the test does reflect an ever prevalent gender inequality in the production, writing and casting of films. A the latest Celluloid Ceiling study completed by Dr Lauzen showed that, in the top 250 hundred grossing films in 2014, only 7% of the directors and 11% of the writers were women.

“My research has found again and again that films with at least one woman writer or director feature higher percentages of female characters on screen” Dr Lauzen adds.

Numerous studies have demonstrated gender inequality in the film industry, both in the making of the film and how the public treat male and female cast members. More recently, Amy Poehler’s ‘Ask Her More’ campaign has highlighted an uncomfortable amount of sexism in the questions women are asked on the red carpet.

We’ve got the facts, and we’ve got over one hundred years of anecdotal evidence of female actors, writers and directors being marginalised. So is the Bechdel test now irrelevant?

“It was never intended to be an actual measure of the quality of a film's portrayals of women.” Says Dr Lauzen. “There are films that provide relatively good portrayals of female characters that do not pass the test, and films that provide relatively poor portrayals of females that do pass the test. Thus, any actual application of the test is flawed. The test is remarkably imprecise as a measure.”

As an alternative to the three original Bechdel questions, I asked her if there was perhaps a more effective way of analysing film for genuine gender equality. Here is what she came up with:

1.      Are the female characters central to the story?

2.      Do the female characters have agency?

3.      Are the female characters multi-dimensional?

“While these questions lack the simplicity of the Bechdel test, they would yield more accurate and complete assessments of the quality of film portrayals.” She told me. “The first question asks about the centrality of females to the story. Are they major characters who are integral to the action of the story?”

“The second question is about agency. Do they have the ability to act and influence not only their own outcome but the outcomes of others? The third question asks whether female characters are portrayed in multidimensional ways. Are they defined by a single role or do they inhabit multiple roles interacting with other characters in a variety of settings? Generally speaking, characters who interact with a number of individuals in many settings tend to be more fully drawn.”

Dr Lauzen is not the only person to speak up about the failings of the Bechdel Test. Media critic and founder of Feminist Frequency Anita Sarkeesian used the test back in 2012 on Oscar nominated films. Unsurprisingly, most of the films failed the test. But Sarkeesian finds another flaw in the current test model.

“Women aren’t the only ones marginalised in Hollywood movies” Anita says in her video, The Oscars and the Bechdel Test.

This is where the figures get really depressing. At the 2015 Oscars, only 6% of the nominees were non-white, and, for the first time since 1998, all twenty of the acting nominees (both male and female) were white. In the whole history of the Oscars, no ethnic minorities have ever won the trophy for Best Director.

The Bechdel test is important in identifying patterns of inequality within the film industry, but as a way of tackling it, it does little more than raise awareness in a fairly two-dimensional way.

“The grassroots dialogue about this issue has grown significantly in recent years.” Says Dr Lauzen. “The discussion is much more prevalent now, appearing in the trades, the popular press, on-line, and in social media. Diversity is now a part of our cultural zeitgeist. However, solving the problem will require the leaders in the mainstream film industry to acknowledge the depth and breadth of the problem, and to work together on large-scale solutions to solve the problem.”

The discussion on inequalities, from all marginalised groups, begins with the questions raised by techniques like the Bechdel Test. But the conversation has to move on, it has to change and become something much more challenging.

Toys and Gender Politics: Leave Lego Alone!

It’s a typical sunny afternoon in August in Brighton’s bustling Churchill Square, and I stand next to the iconic 4 ft tall red Lego brick that customers pass as they enter the Lego store on the ground floor. I’m wearing my work uniform, black and yellow with the LEGO logo emblazoned on my front and back. I’m greeting customers, smiling, a few waves and even some high fives. I quite like my job. 

Well, actually, I love my job. It’s hard not to. Not only are the hours reasonable, the managers and staff are all warm, genuine people and Lego as a product is easy to sell: it’s a trusted brand that kids and adults love alike. This isn’t a piece slagging off Lego, or any toy company for that matter. But before we move on, I have to make you aware of a set that Lego began selling this summer.

The Research Institute is a 165 piece set which depicts three female scientists going about their daily jobs. It was produced by the company after it was submitted to Lego Ideas by geochemist Ellen Kooijman and successfully reached the ten thousand votes it needed to be considered by Lego. The set itself retails at £14.99 and sold out globally in just a few days. The ones that ended up on eBay began selling for triple the price, if not more.

Although not perfect, the popularity of the set does send a huge message to Lego and other toy manufacturers alike: Girls want to be able to identify with figures in serious, professional roles through play. Safe to say, sets that smash stereotypes like this one are in high demand.

However, this brings me to tell you about a customer I had that August afternoon. A woman came in with her daughter, no older than about ten, to ask if the Research Institute was in stock. I had to inform her that no, sadly it had sold out a few weeks back and that no, we weren’t sure if it we were going to get any more in stock. I told her (in my best Retail Voice) that because of the media buzz around the set it had not only sold to youngsters but also adult collectors and opportunists who would probably sell it for an inflated price online. To this, she turned and said to her daughter, “Well, that’s not what we want it for, is it?” implying that they probably would have spent a pleasant afternoon building and playing with the set together. Her daughter did not respond to this, instead continued to shyly swing around the giant red brick, eyes idly wandering around the shop. Seeing the mother’s intentions, I began to tell her about the many other sets we sold that have female figures, as well as the non-gendered builds we stock. This didn’t seem to appeal in the slightest, and she left with her daughter without another word on the subject.

No doubt I can see where she was coming from. Lego have come under lots of criticism about their Friends range, which was launched in an attempt to get more girls interested in Lego. On first glance, it is a heavily stereotyped aesthetic, with figures in frilly skirts and pink tank tops sporting make up and long, stylised girly hair. But on closer inspection of the sets, it shows the characters taking on roles like being a helicopter pilot, and a couple of them are even vets. I can’t be the only one who knows how hard it is to become a vet: but do years of university study and hard work not matter because she is wearing a dress?

Why don’t we also take another look at Lego’s other products. The Lego City range, although mainly boy-centric, do have female figures of policewomen and even female robbers. The Lego Agents spy-themed sets come with female villains alongside female heroines. Even the other Lego Ideas set, the Exo-Suit, comes with one male and one female minifigure, both in space suits: Yve and Pete.

So why are these examples being ignored? Sure, the female figures are in the minority, and by no means am I saying this isn’t a problem. Lego are not the only toy manufacturers who need to step up their game when it comes to equal representation. But the hype around this one particular set says a lot about modern feminism. In that, like this set, feminism is treated as ‘separate’ or ‘the other’ compared to the mainstream. Instead of creating an entirely separate set of Lego, or a set of ideas, that women can benefit from, why not make gender equality a running theme throughout all of our toys, and all of our society? Is there really an issue where we have people who are against equal rights and representation? Do we really need to create separate products that embody these ideas, instead of integrating it smoothly into what we already have?

That being said, I don’t think that exclusively buying children certain toys will draw out the best future for them. Media representation is hugely important in our upbringing, but buying a set of toy scientists for your daughter will not turn her into one. There are many other social and economic factors that will shape her into the woman she will become, but from watching hundreds of families come in and out of the Lego store, it’s not the sets the children buy which determine if they are happy or sad, motivated or lethargic, creative or uninspired. It’s the parents who talk and listen to their children when they speak, and the ones who join in and include themselves in their child’s play when they sit and build on the play table. It’s the parents who are positive about any choice their child makes, because they have encouraged them to think and decide for themselves. All parent/child relationships are different, and any influences on their lives can make a difference, but none more so than the lessons they learn from their parents.

The Research Institute is now back in stock (or was on Monday) and will probably be just as popular as it was before. The discussion on gender representation will continue to bubble all through the media, in films, television, video gaming, and so much else. But as I write this, I think of Malala Yousafzai, who has just won the Nobel Peace Prize, and I think to myself; we could be doing a whole lot worse.