Bechdel test

I haven't actually done this research, but I posit that erotica is the genre that on a percentage basis has the most works that pass the Bechdel test.

To save folks looking it up, the Bechdel test requires the work to have

• At least two named female characters

• That have a conversation with each other

• About some topic other than a man

On that score, probably the entire Lesbian section here passes, if nothing else.

Lol, interesting...

What if the women aren't talking about a guy, but are actively fucking him. Does it still pass?

Ah, this gives me pause. Of my own 39 submissions, only 17 pass the test. But, is this test a fair one for short erotic fiction? Many stories “fail” from the outset because the genre often has just two characters.

The real point of the Bechdel test is to provide a quantitative, objective assessment as to whether a film treats women as fully formed humans. That is something more than an object that is only relevant because “it” is titillating, or which is no more relevant to the plot than a gun or a car. The test is effective at exposing sexism, and even better at exposing lazy script writing.

I think written, short erotica needs different indicators. Almost by definition, erotica will treat its characters — male and female — as objects. It’s part of the point and why we are all here. But, I do think erotica is better when we have understanding of the characters, their backgrounds and circumstances, and their motivations. The work is more interesting, and sexier, when it does this effectively. The mind is our primary sex organ, after all.

So, if often only two characters, and the very point is that we celebrate that our humanity includes the fact that our bodies are objects of desire, what would the right quantitative indicators be? How would we objectively know that a story regards its characters — especially its female characters — as more than just bodies that fuck and suck?

I'm not sure an erotica site is the best place to expect a story to pass the Bechdel test! 🤣

I agree. The Bechdel test is highly applicable to film. Not so much to erotica.

Quote by MC1982

I'm not sure an erotica site is the best place to expect a story to pass the Bechdel test! 🤣

You mean you don't get turned on by a couple of women chatting about federal tax policy? Well, to each their own, I guess...

Alison Bechdel has stated many times the test is more of a tongue and cheek observation about media and not something that should be taken seriously.

I would say that goes double for erotica, many stories here only have two characters at all.

Many of my stories involve just two men, so they fail the test utterly. I guess they sometimes talk about women too, so that would even fail a reverse Bechdel test.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

You mean you don't get turned on by a couple of women chatting about federal tax policy? Well, to each their own, I guess...

Oh, that might actually turn me on, at least if they were scantily clad or naked.