New research suggests that 2014 saw a significant drop compared to 2013 in the number of movies released that passed the Bechdel test, the informal guidelines that judge whether individual films represent female characters fairly.
According to data publishing site Silk, the Bechdel “pass rate” was 55.4% in 2014, while in 2013 it was 67.5%, a drop of 12 percentage points. The 2014 figure bucked a recent trend of steadily improving rates: 2012 saw a 66.4% pass rate, 2011 was 62.8%, and 2010 was 60.8%. In fact, the 2014 figure was the worst the survey found since 1994, which came in at 52.4%.
The Bechdel test began as a joke in Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985, but has since gained huge popularity as a tool for analysing gender bias in films. It has even spawned a year-long film festival based in London, the Bechdel Test Fest, which had its second event start 23 March.
The Silk survey also concluded that animated films – of particular concern, as large numbers of young children watch them – have had a chequered history in relation to the Bechdel test, with the last two years showing a startling improvement, presumably down to the “Frozen effect”. In 2012, 59.1% of animated films received a Bechdel “pass” (compared to 66% overall), while for 2013 the figure jumped to 72.7%, before falling to 64.3%% for 2014.
