Bechdel test for men?

typhonblue · 2012-04-15T21:08:05+00:00

I took a stab at creating a Bechdel test a while back:

Name a male character that:

Has a vulnerability unrelated to a female character.
That inspires another character to take action to help him.
And that other character is male.

Number 3 can be just for bonus points. The fact that there are almost no movies that pass the first two is the real absurdity.

edit Amended #1.

C0CKPUNCHER · 2012-04-15T20:49:53+00:00

Is vulnerable without being presented as disgusting, fodder or superhuman.

dessicatedfetus · 2012-04-16T00:34:03+00:00

he gets in an argument with a woman and the woman admits she's wrong.

NateSoli · 2012-04-16T02:28:08+00:00

This video rebuts why the bechdel test doesn't really have any relevance when applied to men, or straight men's issues. Is it really necessary for a group that already has a wide range of representations? The bechdel test was "designed" to point out that there wasn't any representation at all, not that the representation was bad in any way (which is partially a given considering how many films fail the test). I'm not certain that a male bechdel test is necessary given the amount and variety of male portrayals in film. Stereotypes are played out everywhere, but straight men aren't underrepresented in film.

I'm just not sure you can make an easy test to use that has the simple pass/fail system that would illustrate anything of importance in terms of hollywood's portrayal of men.

If we were talking in terms of films portraying characters that run outside societal gender roles, I think it would make more sense in general. Specifically,

(1) any portrayal of a man or woman in a socially "unusual" role [eg. male nurse, female breadwinner]

(2) who's "contrary" gender behavior is not addressed or emphasized visually or thematically [directly emphasizing "look at how they are bucking typical roles for their gender!"] and

(3) does not reinforce typical gender roles by punishing that character for their behavior.

rightsbot · 2012-04-15T20:20:18+00:00

Post text automatically copied here. (Why?) (Report a problem.)

2012-04-16T01:58:38+00:00

(1) at least two men

(2) who converse

(3) and who neither physically fight, nor blow things up

{3b} nor do they have sex with women or make misogynist statements or jokes

Erebus77 · 2012-04-16T02:23:15+00:00

I put forth the following test:

1) Character is the leading male. 2) Character is described by saying who he is, and not what his job is.

Examples from reviews taken from Rotten Tomatoes:

In 1946, a banker named Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)....

New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis)....

A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora...

For hundreds of years, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) has been taking out the trash....

therealbarackobama · 2012-06-10T02:44:23+00:00

how about the bechdel test for men be 1) at least two men 2) who talk to each other 3) about something other than a woman o wait thats literally every movie lmao

EvilPundit · 2012-04-15T22:29:58+00:00

Clearly it should be named after the person who invented it: The Vegibowl Test.

Bartab · 2012-04-16T01:52:57+00:00

When a man is in a private area with a woman....and doesn't rape her.

Since we're all just uncontrollable raping machines, after all.

vegibowl · 2012-04-15T20:25:32+00:00

Features less than X stereotyped portrayals of Masculinity.

MolokoPlusPlus · 2012-04-15T21:03:21+00:00

Wouldn't the obvious one be "features at least two men who talk to each other about something other than a woman"?

If that's a false parallel, why?

TracyMorganFreeman · 2012-04-15T21:36:05+00:00

The Bechdel test is stupid to begin with, at least as a measure of a) the quality of the movie/plot, and b) the prominence of a woman or women in the plot. It has movies where women are the protagonist and the central figure fail the test.

For example Alien doesn't despite Ripley being the central figure. Same with Avatar and the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

ghebert001 · 2012-04-15T23:55:22+00:00

At least two men, who do stuff, without said stuff being about saving a woman.

Title	Bechdel test for men?
Author	vegibowl
Upvotes	6
Comments	76
Date	April 15, 2012 8:18 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/sb7yg/bechdel_test_for_men/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/bechdel-test-for-men.1023928 https://theredarchive.com/post/1023928

Comments