Women in Comics: DC vs Marvel, The Bechdel Test
I'm a comics journalist, and normally my writing focuses on women creators in comics and the portrayal of women characters. But the Bechdel Test is so famous, and so equally derided by a lot of the general readership, that I figured it was worth a go to Bechdel Test ALL THE THINGS.
Or at least the comics I had to hand. I also did a Reverse Bechdel Test alongside the normal test, to help illustrate the divide between the portrayal of men and women in comics.
Obviously the Bechdel Test is just one aspect of looking at the issue as a whole, but I found the results surprisingly encouraging. At least for DC, where the results showed a lot of balance across my titles, and where the women led titles like Batwoman helped pick up the slack. And normally I'm focusing on all the other angles, so it was a nice change.
The full article is here: Women in Comics: DC vs Marvel, The Bechdel Test
Happily, the discussion I've seen about this piece on other forums is mostly guys saying the Reverse Bechdel Test has made them see the imbalance properly. So feel free to share :D
Or at least the comics I had to hand. I also did a Reverse Bechdel Test alongside the normal test, to help illustrate the divide between the portrayal of men and women in comics.
Obviously the Bechdel Test is just one aspect of looking at the issue as a whole, but I found the results surprisingly encouraging. At least for DC, where the results showed a lot of balance across my titles, and where the women led titles like Batwoman helped pick up the slack. And normally I'm focusing on all the other angles, so it was a nice change.
The full article is here: Women in Comics: DC vs Marvel, The Bechdel Test
Happily, the discussion I've seen about this piece on other forums is mostly guys saying the Reverse Bechdel Test has made them see the imbalance properly. So feel free to share :D