Bechdel Test

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The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two [named] women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gAF_bCo_4Y/TexG3UuxAMI/AAAAAAAAAsk/1RnUFtjHXOw/s1600/The+Bechdel+Test.jpg

Two further two points should be noted:

  • Passing or failing the test has no bearing at all on whether a film (or other media) is good.
  • Passing the test does not necessarily make it more feminist, or otherwise, positive-for-women.

So what is it, then? A crude tool to start thinking about sexism in cinema. One film failing is not a problem. When all the films you know bar one or two fail, it suggests a bigger picture where, broadly, women have nothing to do. They’re either absent, or exist purely to support male protagonists. It implies their underdevelopment – they don’t have personalities, interests or roles in the plot outside of said male protagonists. - The Bechdel Test: What It Is, And Why It Matters

For more information about the Bechdel Test, see:

Even though Young Hercules is a show that primarily focuses on three male leads, it still manages to pass the test every so often. Episodes that pass the Bechdel Test:

1.09 Amazon Grace

1.22 A Lady in Hades

1.25 Herc's Nemesis

1.29 Sisters

1.30 The Golden Bow

1.31 Home for the Holidays

1.35 My Fair Lilith

1.38 Me, Myself, and Eye

  • The Fates?

1.44 Parents Day