The Bechdel Test through literary history.

From Occasional Planet:

I was struck by the simplicity of this test and by its patent validity as a measure of gender bias. As I thought about it some more, it occurred to me how few of the classic works of literature that I teach to my high school freshmen would pass this test: The Odyssey? Nope. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass? Nope. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Nope. Romeo and Juliet. Nope.

What’s wrong with me?

(via The Millions)

Comments

[Oddmonster]

It gets even more terrifying if you start consistently applying the test to all the books you read. Then it becomes enough to make you never want to get out of bed again.