Visualizing the Bechdel-Wallace Test
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The Test

The Bechdel-Wallace Test first appeared in this strip of Alison Bechdel'sDykes to Watch Out For, and measures the representation of women in film and other media. The three measures of the Bechdel test:

  1. The movie has to have at least two women in it...
  2. who talk to each other...
  3. about something besides a man

The simplicity of the test makes it a stark reminder of the lack of female representation in film, but also makes it an imperfect measure. Others have been inspired to fill in those gaps.

The Key

Click on a circle (or set of circles) to zoom in to see which movies passed or failed.

  • Circle size represents domestic box office gross.
  • A red circle represents a movie that failed the test.
  • A white circle represents a movie that passed the test.
  • Dataset courtesy of FiveThirtyEight.