Subject: the test is grade A bunko, anyways
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Posted on: 2010-04-22 19:30:00 UTC

Technically, showgirls, red sonja, hellsing and black lagoon all pass the bechdel test, and none of them are exactly outstanding examples of gender equality. On the other hand, movies like the silence of the lambs and the lord of the rings movies(go and watch them again, I don't think there's any point where two women talk to each other) fail, but you can't say that movie is sexist. Spirited away passes, but all the women are servants, apart from the old witch-like characters. And I'm not even getting into games. System shock and bioshock? The characters spend most of their time talking to or about Jack/Subject delta/the Hacker. So it fails, but... SHODAN? Lansing? Tenenbaum? Lamb? All of them important female characters. Final fantasy X-2 passes, haha that's not sexist at all.

Scanning the front layer of my bookcase:
I don't think half of the discworld books pass, but you can't accuse terry pratchett of being a misogynistic pig. TWILIGHT, of all things, passes. My bloody Warhammer books pass, and the only women in the entire world seem to be incredibly rare or Sisters of Shallya. nearly all of the manga I own passes, and I dare you to say manga is usually gender-equal. V for vendetta fails. Batman passes. I can't even remember if Dune passes. I'd dig deeper, but I might get lost.

TL;DR while the test may help determine the gender equality of media, it is by no means a perfect reflection of the sexism inherent in said media.

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