The Bechdel Test, Gender Roles and Hegemony

Bechdel's Test

(I apologize for the lighting, it's a work in progress.)

I’m female. It’s an indicative statement that affirms the obvious, yet with those two words a whole set of subtexts is instantly set off. The expectations and implications associated with being female are drawn to attention quite often these days, but there is still a steady undercurrent that defines women as somehow fundamentally different than the generic view of ‘human.’ This subtle, constant work of hegemony is a driving force in the creation and maintenance of gender roles, and the Bechdel Test is only one example.

Hegemony, by definition, is not preached openly or forced onto the populace by coercion. It is accepted as “common sense,” swept under the realm of conscious observation. Through the reinforcement of images and messages that support a dominant group or ideology, hegemony creates a definition of normalcy that goes undetected. This in turn creates a cycle: because something is assumed to be normal, it is incorporated into a hegemony, at which point more people are persuaded of this something’s normalcy.

Most issues with gender roles have been pulled out from this blind spot at least in some form: the exploitation of women in advertising and entertainment, the treatment of women in the workplace, politics, and other forms of leadership. But one that stayed beyond my notice for some time is the general lack of female characters in movies. Sure, most movies now emphasize at least one strong female cast member, but most of the time this character is so busy being female that they don’t have time for basic character development. Too often, women only exist in a narrative because of a familial or romantic connection to a male character; even more regularly, they are restricted to themes associated with the feminine or they are used only as prizes or objects to be rescued and saved. A more recent phenomenon is a problem that arises when the character is taken too far in the other direction: the creators produce an ‘Action Girl’ who has no character traits other than being the designated stand-in for an often inaccurate idea of what strength looks like in a woman.

While it may appear that female characters are stronger and more frequent in storytelling media, the truth is they are still far from being recognized as a generic human being with generic human problems. In the video above, I address this through a discussion of the Bechdel Test. Click here for more information, or watch this video showing even more examples.

Postscript

(Correction: At least than half of the people you meet on a college campus will be female.)