The Bechdel test is a fascinating
subject. It calls forth ideas about understanding the nature of the society we
have created and what that means for all of us as a species. It highlights many
of our social development faults.
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| Bechdel |
The rules of the Bechdel Test for a
piece of media are as follows:
1. It has to have at least two
women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man
The test identifies a few obvious
trends in modern art and storytelling. It points to the idea that only male
characters carry weight in these worlds. Often in many storytelling instances
women have little to no autonomy due to their purpose being only to further the
ends and identification of the male character and protagonist. While this is an
interesting and expected trend in most media and art in general, the most
interesting idea is that women themselves have been conditioned to some degree
to expect less female autonomy in all stories, including those that play
specifically to the female fantasy of love.
Romance to be very specific is
usually a media that features love. The women are usually very good people but
for some strange reason alone and out of fashion. Usually the author comments
on looks, or on responsibilities that fall into traditional roles that are
favorable for female characters.
The challenge of any fantasy is to
make unbelievable instances take shape. Yet within the framework of believability.
It’s called the suspension of disbelief in professional wrestling, magic shows
and visual entertainment in general. This is a parody. Play act that
facilitates a story about growth, love and passion.
This is exceedingly difficult to do
when the author can’t even seem to identify the female characters in the story
as people. It is unsurprising yet astounding in this day and age when that
happens. I recall one of the complaints I’ve had about my female characters is that
they are not likable. I casually and caustically explained after the critique
was given to my female character without thought for the male who carried many
of the same traits that she wasn’t supposed to be likable. She’s supposed to be
human. She is to be accepted as she is, just as the male of the story is.
Ladies, let’s be honest, our
romance heroes are not super romantic. Most
of them are grade A assholes that for some reason cannot get enough of the girl
most unlikely to matter to them. We respect them because they are not embarrassed
or ashamed of who they are. We call that an Alpha male in this genre and most
readers would be hard pressed to enjoy a book that didn’t feature one. I find
it daunting that every time I write a woman the same way, editors and agents
find her ‘unlikable’. Because of course in the court of love and respectability
politics you dare not propose love for a girl who is “gasp’ unlikable.
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| Taming |
I think to Shakespeares’ Taming of the
Shrew. Which in essence is a stage play from centuries ago completely about respectability
politics and how they affect the acceptable level of aggression a female is
allowed to have and still be able to have a successful relationship with a man.
The play was written by a man and yet he seemed to grasp the idea of well if
you want this much woman you need to be this much man and accept a true partner
that many female authors abandon for canned preapproved agency drivel.
I could almost buy the argument
that this is because I may have unintentionally excluded ‘feminine’ traits from
them. I prefer to err on the side that by dent of being a woman whatever she
does IS feminine. However this seems to be our impasse. Which is why this test
is so important. If there is a definitive aspect of how I write a character
that is considered a female thing when sex isn’t being discussed, then I’m
writing all of my characters wrong.
Humanity goes beyond discernable
genitalia. Humanity involves spirit, heart, essence, a fiber a soul. All of
these attributes should be portrayed without a sex, because they are. These
things are embodiments of the human condition. I will relent and say yes some
characters will express these motivations and desires differently, but let me
be clear, they will not or ever be along sexual divides. I consider it to be
lazy writing.
Producing characters driven by
clothes because they like to look pretty is lazy writing. I seek to create
unique stories about unique people which I find to be the reality of the world.
My characters are driven by the impression they seek to make in those clothes.
The inherent comfort or discomfort of those clothes. The decisions are
sometimes frivolous but are met equally by hard thought out and followed
through on choices that have little to do with a male or female perspective and
more to do with a basic human one.
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| Brave and Rightly So |
The complexity of humanity is a
daunting task to write about. It intimidates me every time I plot a major twist
because in that moment the people I love can betray me. Every writer
understands what I just wrote. It’s the complexity of humanity that makes these
characters live beyond us, outside of us, desiring their own peaks and valleys.
My characters, male or female, don’t want the easy answers. They don’t want the
cop outs and the maybes. They want their tragedies and they want their
triumphs. They want to be the lowest speck of humanity while being the
brightest. No chromosomal switch turn at the last stages of development
determines whether they want or need that more or less. Yes they come across
individuals that don’t agree and they are pitied for what they choose to give
up.
I see the Bechdel as more than just
checking for equality. It’s a call to arms for artists to be the change they should
want to see.
