Transcript for The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies

The Bechdel Test or the Mo Movie Measure

is a type of litmus test to assess the

presence of women in movies

It originated from Allison Bechdel’s comic

“Dykes to Watch Out For” in 1985

Here’s how it works, a movie just has to

pass these three simple questions

the first are there two or more women in it

who have names

the second do they talk to each other

and the third, do they talk to each other

about something other then a man

It’s quite extraordinary actually how many

movies don’t pass this test cause it’s not

even a sign of whether it's a feminist movie

or whether it's a good movie just that there is

female presence in it and that they actually

are engaging about things other then men

To prove that this is actually a systemic

problem and not just a few movies here and

there I can show you a couple films that

don’t pass the test

♪ instrumental music ♪

Okay you get the point

this is only just a few films out of the many

films that don’t pass this test

When I call it a systemic problem what I

mean by this is that it’s not just a few people

here and there that don’t like women or

don’t want women’s stories told but that

rather the entire industry is built upon

creating films and movies that cater to

and that are about men

Next time you go to the movies just ask

yourself these few questions. Are there two

or more women in it and do they have

names? Do they talk to each other?

And do they talk to each other about

something other then a man?