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?