#bechdel wallace test

[phospadparadscha]

this is so awesome

[pearwaldorf]

Happy International Women’s Day! What an auspicious day to debut the Kent test, a rubric similar to the Bechdel-Wallace test to help people think critically about the portrayal of women of color in media.

You can see a full explanation of the test and clarifications to points here, but I have reproduced the main points below. All credit to Clarkisha Kent, the creator. If you have found this useful and are able, please make a direct monetary donation.

One point for each criteria met. The scale goes from 0-8.

The woman/femme of color character… 

Must not solely be a walking stereotype/trope.

Must have their own plot / narrative arc.

Must not be solely included in the narrative just for purpose of “holding down” some male character and his story.

Must not solely be included in the narrative to prop up a White female character.​ 

Must not solely exist in the film/piece of media for the purpose of fetishization.  

Must have at least one interaction with another woman/femme of color.​ A bonus point​ will be awarded if the second women of color is not​ related to the first woman of color in any way, shape, or form.

Must not be the go-to character “sacrifice” in a film/piece of media​. 

I think this is a great test because you can do it easily and quickly after watching a thing. Black Panther? 8, for multiple characters. Pacific Rim? 6. The Last Jedi for Rose Tico? 4. 

Obviously this is not and should not be the only criteria to evaluate representation of women of color, but it’s a good start. I hope this is useful to you as a content creator and consumer.

[genrecollector]

Does Loki season 2 pass the bechdel test?

[romancandle16-blog]

The Bechdel-Wallace Test, developed in the mid 1980s by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace, was devised in order to determine whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Straightforward and easy to apply, the test has been used to determine the degree of sexism in literature and movies for the last 3 decades. In order to pass, a work of fiction must cover the following criteria: to feature more than two named female characters, to have these characters engage in conversation and to ensure that this conversation is about something other than a man. Last week The Hollywood Reporter magazine applied the Bechdel test to 2016's 25 highest grossing box office hits to see how they will fare. The results were predictably disappointing - only 13 of the movies passed all three criteria. In addition, the magazine discovered that "female driven films are typically shown on only a third as many movie screens as male driven films", while the average budget for women filmmakers is substantially lower than that of their male counterparts. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that the majority of the films which did pass the test are geared towards a younger audience (Finding Dory, Fantastic Beasts, Zootopia, Trolls, etc.) Hopefully, the children watching them will grow up to be more sensitive and aware regarding gender equality, and will expect nothing less that fair representation of women in mainstream cinema. To see the full list of movies examined by The Hollywood Reporter and to find out how each of them did on the Bechdel test, click here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bechdel-test-2016-movies-passed-failed-952944?facebook_20161209

[whocaresaboutactresses]

The DuVernay Test

Who Cares About Actresses deeply admires Ava DuVernay, so when we heard that Manohla Dargis coined a new term after her, we weren’t at all surprised. Taking a cue from the Bechdel Test (or Bechdel-Wallace Test,) Dargis devised the test to look at representation of people of color in movies. 

Dargis explains that the DuVernay test is one "in which African-Americans and other minorities have fully realized lives rather than serve as scenery in white stories." DuVernay herself is totally on board, tweeting her support of the new test. Now we wait in anticipation for the stats on this to roll in...

[mymagicalrealities]

A Racial “Crystal Gems test”

I was reading locuas642′s Crystal Gems omnibus test for representation of women, and thought back to proposals for Racial Bechdel(-Wallace) tests.

Deggans’ rule recommends the following: 

At least two non-white human characters in the main cast...

...in a show that's not about race.

Alaya Dawn Johnson’s test goes like this: 

It has to have two POC in it,

Who talk to each other,

About something other than a white person.

Ars Marginal posted the following test: 

At least one named character of color,

Whose primary trait is not their race,

Who does something important besides help a White person.

I also have an interest in whether such a character has a narrative arc of their own, as well as pushing the discussion beyond just 1 or two POC characters in a cast. Some who have discussed the Mako Mori test have criticized how the test is not usually utilized in relation to Mako Mori being a POC character as well as a woman. Basically, I would like to see the conversation about POC in fiction be elevated beyond mere quantity of representation to include the quality of representation.

So here’s my draft of a Racial Crystal Gems test:

A work must have at least four POC characters. 

It must pass Deggans’ Rule;

It must pass Alaya Dawn Johnson’s Racial Bechdel-Wallace test;

It must pass the Ars Marginal test;

At least one POC must have a narrative arc of their own, which is not about supporting a white person (literally the racial Mako Mori test);

At least one POC must be meaningful enough to the plot that removing the character would have a significant effect. 

Each [major POC] character must pass at least one of these tests, and each test must be passed by at least one [major POC] character; the more times you can repeat the previous step, the better.

I’d like to hear Tumblr’s opinions about this.