Why I Think The Bechdel Test Matters for a Novel About Two Gay Men (Patreon)

This is something I’ve pondered for a while and would like to talk about. First though, for those of you now familiar with the Bechdel Test, a definition. This test is a way to measure the role of woman in movies that is increasingly being applied to fiction. The test has three simple criteria:

1. The movie has to have at least two women in it,

2. who talk to each other,

3. about something besides a man.

This test is simple, it’s efficient, and it’s easy to use to get a picture of how women are being represented. It’s something a lot of media has failed miserably at historically.

Now, as you’ve probably gathered from the samples for Scars of the Golden Dancer, the novel centers on the relationship between Naji and Zayn. This is their story. The book centers on what they do, and the point of view alternates between them. Since, both of the main protagonists are gay, what role is there for woman in a story like this?

This I feel, depends largely on the scope. If you look back at the story I posted, “Loosening Up,” the scope is tightly focused on these two characters. There’s no space for anyone else, and there is no role for a female character in it. Even the sequel story that will be published in a few months, which is quite a bit longer, doesn’t have any female characters in it. The scope stays focused on the relationship of Muri and Leister. Part of that is achieved by the fact they spend most of the story in or around a camper van. A third or fourth character just doesn’t easily fit into that type of story.

However, Scars of the Golden Dancer is scoped in a much bigger world. There is a map. (Also, I will be posting the map later this week) There are multiple characters in the story who are going about doing things. There are antagonists, and background characters. Yes, some of them are gay, but should they all be?

This is something I’ve pondered while working on the novel, and you’ll notice in chapter 2, I brought back the two female characters in the prequel story, “Silk and Sword,” to give them some screen time. Fraida was previously only mentioned in “Silk and Sword,” but I’m glad I’m able to give her a little bit of screen time. I also wanted a scene that provides some normalcy to setting while also providing something for female readers. Yes, this is a very mundane scene, and I’m unsure the conversation about kids was the best way to tackle it, but it lets me get some more woman into the story. These aren’t major female characters, but I think it makes the world feel fuller.

Later in the book, we pick up a major female character, but she appears many chapters later. Even then, almost all of her conversations is with the two gay male protagonists. It’s not till the penultimate chapter there is a chance for her to be observed speaking to another woman alone, and it’s a brief conversation before things turn to the issues at hand, which leads back to our two main protagonists. One of the challenges also passing the test and letting the woman interact on their own is that in a first-person novel, it is difficult setting up scenes where the point of view characters are present but not driving the conversation.

There is also the question of, will I have female readers? While I don’t expect women to be the bulk of my readership, I know a few women who likely will read this.  Who reads my published work is not something I as a writer have any control over. Thus, it makes sense to me, even for a story dealing with gay characters, to give female readers a chance to see themselves in the story. It certainly doesn’t cost me anything as a writer to do that either.