The Mary Sue Runs Primer on Bechdel-Wallace Test and the Work of Alison Bechdel SR ’77

Alison Bechdel SR ’77, alumna of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, is known for many things, from her Macarthur “genius” grant to the enduring popularity of Fun Home, but the “Bechdel-Wallace Test,” which she first outlined in her serial cartoon Dykes to Watch Out For, remains an important media metric to this day, writes Madeline Carpou for the Mary Sue. Tracing the origins of the Bechdel-Wallace Test, which posits that a piece of media must have at least two women characters who speak to each other about something other than men, Bechdel’s career is outlined as a primer to those unfamiliar with her work. More commonly known as the “Bechdel Test,” Bechdel attributes the test to her friend Liz Wallace and prefers for it to be referred to it as such.

Post Date: 07-12-2022