Agreed on all points, particularly the last one. It's not really a mark of quality or feminist credibility either way. I think the mods of the dragonagewomen challenge are pretty aware of this, fortunately.
I have seen some interesting discussions about ways to extend Bechdel to other media that make more sense for them, particularly the idea of making it a "spectrum" rather than a single-pronged test.
One thing I should probably have made more clear in the post is that in general, I agree that Bechdel and other simple representation tests (like the Frank Miller Test) are more useful for looking at an aggregate than they are as ways to analyze a single work. If any one story I write doesn't pass, I'm normally not too fussed about it. But if I were to consider my entire body of writing and determine that most of my stories didn't pass? That might be a matter of greater concern.
no subject
I have seen some interesting discussions about ways to extend Bechdel to other media that make more sense for them, particularly the idea of making it a "spectrum" rather than a single-pronged test.
One thing I should probably have made more clear in the post is that in general, I agree that Bechdel and other simple representation tests (like the Frank Miller Test) are more useful for looking at an aggregate than they are as ways to analyze a single work. If any one story I write doesn't pass, I'm normally not too fussed about it. But if I were to consider my entire body of writing and determine that most of my stories didn't pass? That might be a matter of greater concern.