Author: Nikita Coulombe
The Bechdel
Test
is
an
informal
rating
system
outlined
by
graphic
novelist
Alison
Bechdel
that
classifies
media
with
three
simple
criteria:
to
pass
the
test
a
plot
must
-
“have
at
least
two
[named]
women
in
it, -
who
talk
to
each
other, -
about
something
besides
a
man.”
Very
few
video
games
pass
all
the
criteria
of
the
Bechdel
Test,
and
just
over
half
of
movies
do.
The
test
is
imperfect;
a
film
could
pass
the
test
but
still
include
sexist
content;
nevertheless
some
cinemas
and
organizations
–
such
as
the
Swedish
Film
Institute
–
are
taking
the
rating
seriously,
and
using
it
to
highlight
gender
bias
against
women.
Is
there
a
similar, Bechdel-like
test
that
shows
bias
against
men?
No,
but
there
should
be.
For
far
too
long,
men
have
been
cast
as
duds,
yet
doing
so
has
clearly
been
profitable,
thus
pressure
to
change
such
negative
stereotypes
will
need
to
come
from
the
outside.
Of
course
this
will
only
happen
when
people
are
willing
to
recognize
gender
biases
affect
men,
too,
or
how
earnestly
young
men
need
more
positive
male
role
models
to
look
up
to
in
the
media.
What
would
a
male
version
of
the
Bechdel
Test
look
like?
In
our
book,
Man
(Dis)connected,
social
psychologist
Philip
Zimbardo
and
I
describe
a
possible
option
we
call
the
“MacGyver
Test”
(named
after
the
popular
90s
television
adventure
series)
that
a
film
or
television
show
passes
if
it
meets
any
of
these
criteria
about
its
male
characters:
-
The
absence
of
the
mother
is
not
required
for
the
father
to
be
portrayed
as
a
competent
dad. -
An
honest,
hard-working
man
is
in
a
successful
or
leadership
position
and
is
not
portrayed
as
a
hapless
loser. -
The
female
protagonist
shows
interest
in
male
protagonist
before
he
is
the
hero. -
The
male
protagonist
solves
problems
in
creative
ways,
and
only
uses
violence
as
a
last
resort
to
carry
out
his
goals
or
mission.
The
list
of
media
that
pass
these
modest
criteria
would
no
doubt
be
a
short
one.
Another
way
to
raise
awareness
around
the
portrayal
of
men
in
the
media
would
be
to
swap
the
male
and
female
roles
in
movies
and
television
shows,
and
then
re-examine
the
plots.
For
example,
let’s
reverse
the
roles
of
the
“fearless”
Princess
Anna
and
the
“rugged”
iceman
Kristoff
in
the
Academy
Award-winning
animated
children’s
movie,
Frozen.
In
the
movie,
Anna’s
older
sister,
Elsa,
banishes
herself
from
their
castle
because
she
can’t
control
her
magical
ability
to
produce
ice
and
snow
with
her
hands.
Anna
sets
out
to
find
her
sister
and
bring
her
home.
Anna
is
offered
help
by
the
smooth-talking
Prince
Hans,
whom
she
immediately
falls
in
love
with.
But
who
ends
up
helping
her?
The
penniless
iceman
Kristoff,
whose
sled
and
reindeer
Anna
decide
she
can
use
for
her
own
agenda
–
never
mind
if
he
needs
them
(she
doesn’t
ask).
After
nearly
getting
him
killed,
destroying
his
sled,
and
finally
rescuing
Elsa,
Anna
and
Kristoff
go
their
separate
ways.
It
is
only
after
Prince
Hans
proves
himself
to
be
evil,
and
Olaf
–
the
dopey
snowman
sidekick
–
says
to
Anna
that
Kristoff
would
be
a
good
match
that
Anna
even
bothers
to
consider
Kristoff
as
a
romantic
partner.
Now
imagine
a
movie
where
a
prince
felt
entitled
to
use
a
hardworking
woman
whose
only
possessions
were
her
sled
and
reindeer,
which
she
uses
to
eke
out
a
living,
to
go
rescue
his
brother
and
after
she
voluntarily
busts
her
butt
to
help
him
he
goes
back
to
his
life
without
a
second
thought.
Audiences
would
be
up
in
arms!
We
would
think
“what’s
wrong
with
him?
Why
can’t
he
get
his
act
together?”
Yet
that
thought
doesn’t
even
cross
our
minds
while
watching
Frozen.
Instead,
we
think
Anna
is
quirky
and
adventurous.
By
the
way,
Frozen
does
not
pass
the
MacGyver
Test…
When
two
out
of
five
children
are
being
born
to
single
moms (the
rate
is
one
out
of
two
for
women
under
30
years
old),
a
third
of
boys
are
growing
up
in
father-absent
homes,
and
boys
with
fathers
are
only
spending
half
an
hour
a
week
in
one-on-one
conversation
with
their
fathers
vs.
44
hours
in
front
of
a
television
or
computer
screen
(see
source
8
below),
we
need
to
ask
ourselves
what
impact
the
negative
media
portrayals
of
men
are
having
on
them
(as
well
as
young
women).
Is
it
possible
for
the
idea
of
men
being
men
responsibly
to
make
its
way
back
into
popular
culture?
Sources:
-
Bechdel
Test
Movie
List
(2014).
Retrieved
from
Bechdel
Test:
http://bechdeltest.com. -
Agnello,
A.J.,
Keiser,
J.,
Nelson,
S.,
Sanskrit,
D.,
and
Teti,
J.
(2012,
July
18),
‘Something
Other
than
a
Man:
15
Games
that
Pass
the
Bechdel
Test’.
Retrieved
from
The
Gameological
Society:
https://archive.is/P8Wbl. -
Stats
(2014).
Retrieved
from
Bechdel
Test:
http://bechdeltest.com/statistics/. -
‘Swedish
Cinemas
Take
Aim
at
Gender
Bias
with
Bechdel
Test
Rating’
(2013,
November
6).
Retrieved
from
the
Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/swedish-cinemas-bechdel-test-films-gender-bias. -
Martin,
J.A.,
Hamilton,
B.E.,
Osterman,
M.J.,
Curtin,
S.C.,
and
Mathews,
T.J.
(2013,
December
30),
Births:
Final
Data
for
2012.
Retrieved
from
National
Vital
Statistics
Reports,
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf#table02. -
Note:
US
birth
rates
by
race
for
women
under
30
–
Blacks:
73
per
cent;
Hispanics:
53
per
cent;
Whites:
29
per
cent.
See:
DeParle,
J.
and
Tavernise,
S.
(2012,
February
17),
‘For
Women
Under
30,
Most
Births
Occur
Outside
Marriage’.
Retrieved
from
the
New
York
Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/for-women-under-30-most-births-occur-outside-marriage.html. -
Cribb,
R.
(2011,
November
25),
‘The
Grim
Evidence
That
Men
Have
Fallen
Behind
Women’.
Retrieved
from
Toronto
Star:
http://www.thestar.com/life/2011/11/25/rob_cribb_the_grim_evidence_that_men_have_fallen_behind_women.html. -
As
stated
by
David
Walsh,
founder
of
Mind
Positive
Parenting.
See:
Borden,
C.
and
Obsatz,
K.
(Directors)
(2007),
Journeyman
[documentary].
United
States,
MirrorMan
Films.
Original Story on AVFM
These stories are from AVoiceForMen.com.
(Changing the cultural narrative)