I hate the Bechdel Test. And yes, I'm a feminist.
The Bechdel Test, named after American cartoonist Alison Bechdel (writer of Fun Home and Dykes To Watch Out For where the test first appeared), states that for a work of fiction to pass the test it has to feature at least 2 women who talk about something other than men. The requirement that the female leads are named is also sometimes added on.
I think the Bechdel Test has done amazing things for raising awareness about how sexist the entertainment industry is and has created great conversations and dialogue about gender biases, But ultimately, I think the Bechdel Test is extremely limiting and unfair: there are great feminist movies, miniseries, plays, and TV shows where women talk about men.
It's fine to talk about men! It happens in real life! Just because women talk about men does not mean they are "weakening the feminist cause." The Bechdel Test reduces characters to ticked off boxes, and only accounts for whether or not they are featured in a work of fiction.It does not account for any deeper understanding or analysis.
A piece of fiction that passes the test can still be incredibly sexist, and a piece of fiction with powerful female characters can fail it. The original and the remake of "The Stepford Wives" passes the Bechdel Test...so does "Remember the Titans". "Goodfellas" passes it, but only because two female characters have a small conversation about Florida. "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days" (a personal favorite of mine, btw) also passes it. So does "Scary Movie", which may be the scariest thing about that franchise.
There seems to be a disconnect here. As Telegraph film critic Robbie Collins notes, the test favors "box-ticking and stat-hoarding over analysis and appreciation," something that needs to change if we really want gender equality in fiction to be the standard and not an anomaly.
Television, and film, still has a long way to go before women are represented the same way that men are. However, here are the best Feminist TV Shows currently being produced, that show maybe, just maybe, we're making a little progress. Some of them don't pass the Bechdel Test, and I don't give a fuck.
1. UnREAL
Lifetime, Created by Marti Noxon and Sarah Shapiro
UnREAL sounds like it shouldn't work. And in the hands of anyone else it probably wouldn't. From the channel that's mostly known for it’s cry-to-this-while-eating-ice-cream-movies than complex characters, it is bit ironic that we find on the self-described "womans channel" the first pure female Anti-Hero. The main character, Rachel, is an executive producer on the reality show Everlasting, (a Bachelor-like dating show). The first time we see her she is wearing a grey, slouchy “This Is What A Feminist Looks Like” t-shirt. Rachel is in charge of eliciting reactions from the girls that constitute “must-watch TV;” she preys on their insecurities and weaknesses in order to get breakdowns and catty fights. For all intents and purposes, she is not a feminist, as her job essentially requires her to break down women, all in the name of entertainment. And she is good at it. And this show is amazing.
2. Girls
HBO, Created by Lena Dunham
Yeah, you know this one. And it'd be stupid not to include it on a list of Feminist television, despite the criticisms of it being just about a bunch of whiny millennials. I happen to be a whiny millennial. So, fuck it. Girls follows the lives of 4 post-grad girls living in Brooklyn, and features more nudity and uncomfortable moments than discovering a stash of playboys in your dad's closet. Girls proves that everyone is kind of awful. And what screams "equality" like the revelation that everyone equally sucks?
3. Broad City
Comedy Central, Created by Ilana Glazer and Abbey Jacobsen
Broad City is about 2 post-grad girls living in Brooklyn. Oh. You think it's similar to Girls? It is, but I've heard it described as a "real-er" "Girls". What "Girls" did to "Sex and the City", "Broad City" is doing to "Girls". I would never actually want to be friends with Ilana and Abbey, but I would take body shots and smoke something weird with them.
4. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The CW, Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline McKenna
Yeah, this one also probably shouldn't work, but it does because of Rachel Bloom and also because it's on the CW. And the CW really doesn't have anything left to lose. It's a musical comedy series about a woman who moves across the U.S. to "reunite" with her "soulmate" from sleep-away camp. Say what you will about the pros and cons of it's title and the reclaiming of a sexist insult. OK say it. I don't care. This shit just won a bunch of awards.
5. Jessica Jones
Netflix, Created by Melissa Rosenberg
Jessica Jones is more super than hero, and not a good role model. Nevertheless, I aspire to be her. And I think that makes for the perfect Anti-Heroine. But don't let the title of being a Feminist Superhero dissuade you meninists from watching. THis show has more violence and bad-assery than any other superhero movie that has come out in the past decade. Batman vs. Jessica Jones? Easy: The alcoholic, insulting, rude, PTSD-suffering Jessica Jones.
6. Orange Is The New Black
Netflix, Created by Jenji Kohan
It may not be a completely universal portrayal of life in prison for women. However, from a black transgender hair stylist to a Latin-American chef to the white, blond annoying drug dealer that started it all, this is what the world consists of. This is diverse television. And it's hilarious, and it restarted Natasha Lyonne's career. So amen to that.
7. Jane the Virgin
The CW, Created by Jennie Urman
Another show that wouldn't work anywhere else but the CW, Jane The Virgin is romantic dramedy that takes a satirical spin at stereotypical Latin American tropes and telenovelas. It is about a woman (Jane), a virgin, who accidentally gets artificially inseminated. The show could have easily spent the entire series focusing on her romantic, pregnant, and personal life, but instead it focuses on her professional life. Jane is powerful and ambitious, and the show embraces many types of sexuality, including mocking the very basic, and sexist, notion of "virginity."
8. Difficult People
Hulu, Created by Julie Klausner
You're either gonna love this or hate this, depending on whether or not you yourself are a difficult person and depending on whether or not you like Billy On The Street. I just so happen to be a very difficult person and makes lots of politically incorrect jokes, so, obviously I'm in love with this show about two struggling New York comedians. I also love gay people yelling at me as they run down the street (RE: Billy On The Street). As a loud and rude Jewish woman, I've waited a long time for a character with those traits to be on my TV screen (or laptop screen...). And Julie Kessler is her. Let's just say that within the first 10 minutes there's a joke about urine, Blue Ivy, and R. Kelly that caused quite a stir with the critics. Not only white men are rude and awful! Woman are too!!
9. Empire
FOX, Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong
This probably doesn't pass the Bechdel Test, if the screegrab is any indication. But Cookie Lyon is a feminist warrior.
10. Inside Amy Schumer
Comedy Central, Created my Amy Schumer
"Twelve Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer," a satirical play on the 1957 Henry Fonda-starring movie, is probably the most important thing in recent years in pop culture to happen to feminism. A jury made up entirely of men debate whether or not Amy is hot enough to be on TV. Everything she does is brilliant, because everything she does it true and everything she does you know you wish you had the tits to say.
11. You're The Worst
FXX, Created by Stephen Falk
This may be one of the most beautiful shows on TV, simply because of the way it shows what it's like for a successful mid-20s woman to be clinically depressed and have it not be what defines her. It's criminally under-appreciated...just like women ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
12. Transparent
Amazon, Created by Jill Soloway
Transparent follows the Pfefferman family as they find out the person they once knew as Dad is transgender. It's beautiful and funny and empowering for every type of woman and for whoever says they are, wants to be, is born one, or classifies as a woman.
So there you have it; 12 of the best Feminist TV shows out there, and that's not counting the many many many that are no longer on TV (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Weeds, The Big C, United States of Tara, Damages, etc.). Shout outs to The Mindy Project, The Good Girls Revolt, How To Get Away With Murder, Angie Tribeca, Nurse Jackie,The Leftovers, Idiotsitter, and Chelsea Does... for showing that women can be awful and great and rude and nice and completely capable of being just as complex, interesting, and captivating as men. Who would've thought!?!?!?
