A work of fiction passes the Bechdel test if it contains more than one woman, and those women talk to each other about something other than a man. It sounds like a great idea to me, but how many of my own works pass the test?
Snowbird - yes. Top starship coder Jian Kabana talks to talented engineer Mai, about starships.
Darius - same characters talk again, this time trying to save an orbital shipyard from sabotage.
The Fall of Freyr - yes. I have a whole female investigative team talking among themselves about their professional mission to survey the planet's culture.
Jade - yes. Kaath, my xenobilogist, talks to Sarry about the strange fauna she's discovered.
Eyemind - yes. Artist Keri Starseer talks to Ennis, Governor of Altius, about her mission and her Mind partner Bi.
Auroradawn - yes. Arrien talks to other Great Family Captains about her riddle quest.
Starfire - yes. My Trader captain Ria Bihar talks to a female stationmaster about piracy.
Panthera : Death Spiral, Panthera : Death Song, Panthera : Death. Plain - yes . Ren Hunter talks with the head off the Conservation Authority and with female security chiefs about her work.
So I'm doing pretty well in passing the Bechdel test. I've always had strong female heroines in key positions in my stories, but now I stop and think about it more. I actively think about switching some roles to women, to create a more even gender balance. But here's the thing. None of these books has yet been taken by a mainstream publisher. Could the presence of strong female protagonists be one reason why? I'd hate to think so, but I'm not so sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment