Originally posted over on /r/Fantasy, for obvious reasons, where it generated some really good discussion. Here's the link, if you want to check it out.
The Bechdel test gets tossed around a lot as a metric for sexism in books/movies/tv/etc. Much of the conversation is dominated by arguing over whether or not the Bechdel test is even valid. The answer to that, I feel, is “it depends what you’re trying to figure out with it.” This post is an attempt to see how some of /r/Fantasy’s favorites fare when the Bechdel test is applied in a systematic fashion, rather than the cherry-picked way it usually is discussed.
What is the Bechdel test?
It was first articulated by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985 - here’s the comic that originated it. For something to pass the Bechdel test, it must meet three criteria:
Feature two or more women
That talk to each other
About something other than a man
That’s it. It’s obviously not a high bar. And any feminist will tell you it’s not a great test for whether a work is actually feminist or not. Powerfully feminist works can fail it, and mysoginistic works can easily pass it. The Twilight movie, hardly the apex of the feminist movement, passes - there’s a scene in the beginning where Bella and her mom are talking, so it clears the bar. On the other hand, a movie like Gravity (starring an awesome female character) fails.
It’s not a coincidence that the Bechdel test originated with a comic. It is a joke, but a serious joke - it points to a real imbalance in how frequently and in what ways women are portrayed in media. It’s something that anti-feminists take more seriously than feminists to, or, to be a little more precise, anti-feminists claim that feminists take the Bechdel test much more seriously than feminists actually do.
There are other tests one can apply, such as the Sexy Lamp test (“can this female character be replaced with the sexy lamp from A Christmas Story without substantially changing things?”), the Sexy Lamp with a Post-It Note Stuck On test (same as the Sexy Lamp test, to account for the circumstance where the female character provides the hero with information he needs to know, frequently occurs in James Bond movies), and the Mako Mori test (“does this feature a female character who has her own development arc, not in support of a man’s?”). But the Bechdel test is the first of these “tests” and the most widely known, so that’s what I’m going to be talking about here.
What books am I looking at?
As I said, I wanted to be systematic about this, so I’m not choosing the books I’ll be looking at: I’m letting all of you people do it for me. Specifically, I’m looking at the top 10 books from the 2019 /r/Fantasy best novels poll. Why 2019 specifically? Because it was the most recent list when I started this project. Because of the methodology of the polling, which goes by series/universe instead of individual novels, I’m just going to be looking at the first book in each series. (I feel a little bad that Sir Terry is going to be judged based on The Colour of Magic, but them’s the rules.) The specific books are:
The Way of Kings from the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson
The Hobbit from the Middle-earth universe by JRR Tolkien (I debated whether to use The Hobbit or The Fellowship of the Ring as “book 1,” but it doesn’t actually change anything at all)
A Game of Thrones from the Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin
The Eye of the World from the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
The Final Empire from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Name of the Wind from the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
The Blade Itself from the First Law by Joe Abercrombie
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from Harry Potter by JK Rowling
The Lies of Locke Lamora from the Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch
The Color of Magic from Discworld by Sir Terry Pratchett
Observant readers may note that eight of the nine authors (nine not ten because Sanderson appears twice) are men, and the lone woman published with her initials because her publisher didn’t want to put out the book with the identifiably female name “Joan” on the cover. But that’s a different post.
What’s my methodology?
I’m going to look at all these books, and see if they pass a strict reading of the Bechdel test. I will note how far into the book one has to go before the test is passed, and the circumstances by which it passes. Nothing in this post is a spoiler.
For something to qualify as a “conversation”, it needs to be between two individuals, and both need to participate. Professor McGonagall addressing the first years before the Sorting does not count, despite the presence of Hermione et al. There is a scene very early in A Game of Thrones where Magister Ilyrio’s serving girl tells Dany “Now you look all a princess!” which does not count because Dany does not respond. I recognize this is a judgement call on my part, but I want there to be clear lines and these seem fair. If anyone disagrees with my verdict, please let me know. And I’d be surprised if I didn’t miss something, especially in the books I don’t know as well.
And here’s where I try to turn this into something actually useful. We can’t really discuss any conclusions without something for comparison. To that end, as a control group, I will also be applying a Reverse Bechdel test to each of the books. To pass, the book must feature a conversation between two or more male characters that isn’t about a woman. I am applying the exact same definitions on what is or is not a “conversation.” Seems more than fair.
Get on with it
The Way of Kings. Passes the Bechdel test at the 9% mark, with the first conversation between Shallan and Jasnah. Passes the gender-reversed Bechdel test at 1%, with Kalak talking with Jezrien.
The Hobbit. Fails the Bechdel test. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with Gandalf and Bilbo. (Fellowship also fails the Bechdel test, as does LotR as a whole, and passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1% with the Gaffer holding court at the Green Dragon.)
A Game of Thrones. Passes the Bechdel test at 9%, with Arya and Septa Mordane. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with Gared and Ser Waymar Royce of the Night’s Watch.
The Eye of the World. Passes the Bechdel test at 19%, with Egwene and Moiraine. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with Lews Therin and Ishamael.
The Final Empire. Passes the Bechdel test at 72%, when Vin trades gossip with Lady Kliss at a ball. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with Lord Tresting and an Obligator.
The Name of the Wind. Passes the Bechdel test at 70%, with the encounter between Auri and Mola. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with the crowd at the Waystone Inn.
The Blade Itself. Passes the Bechdel test at 69% when Ferro encounters the Eater sister. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 2%, when Glokta interrogates Salem Rews.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Passes the Bechdel test at 57%, when Hermione lies to McGonagall that she decided to tackle the cave troll. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, when Uncle Vernon encounters random celebrating wizards.
The Lies of Locke Lamora. Passes the Bechdel test at 51%, thanks to a few words exchanged between the mother-and-daughter alchemists d’Aubart. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1%, with the Thiefmaker and Father Chains.
The Color of Magic. Fails the Bechdel test. Passes the reverse Bechdel test at 1% with the Weasel and Bravd.
Summary
8 of the 10 books on /r/Fantasy’s 2019 top novels list passed the Bechdel test. They passed the test, on average, 45% of the way through, though with a standard deviation of a whopping 28%.
10 out of the 10 books passed the gender-reversed Bechdel test, all within the first few pages of each book.
Commentary
For every single one of these books, the reverse Bechdel test was passed in the first few pages of the book. Determining whether or not they passed a gender reverse Bechdel test was, in every case, a formality. Finding out whether or not they passed the regular Bechdel test was much more of a challenge. And one could argue that several of these that technically pass the Bechdel test fail it in spirit: The Final Empire, The Name of the Wind, and The Blade Itself certainly, and probably Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as well. (The Lies of Locke Lamora isn’t on this list thanks to a substantial conversation between Doñas Vorchenza and Salvara, but that one comes after the one listed above.)
So what do I conclude from this? Pretty much what I expected to, honestly. The Bechdel test itself is nigh-worthless in assessing whether or not a given book is feminist. On the basis of any book in particular, passing or failing tells us nothing.
But in aggregate, it tells us a great deal. If there were equal representation of the genders, you would expect something even with these tests applied. It’s not even close.
Brandon Sanderson has commented on this with regard to Mistborn. The original comment is here if you want to read it, but the point I want to mention here is Brandon’s admission that he was so focused on making Vin a “dynamic female lead” that he didn’t act as carefully or thoughtfully with the rest of the characters, so the entire crew is male by default. And that’s the key point right there - the “default” person, whether you’re a man or a woman, is male. There are whole fields of academic study devoted to the idea of “male-as-norm,” and you can find peer-reviewed study after study from psychologists, sociologists, and many others that bear it out. If you’re going to assert that this isn’t a thing, please do your research first.
תגובות