The Bechdel Test

“The Bechdel Test” explores the journey of women who seek to escape from a male-centric way of life.

In a collaboration between dance, comedy and drama, this work seeks to illustrate the paradigm of a male role in the lives of women, and explores ideas of seeking validation, desperation, sexualisation and rejection of male attention.

In the lives of all women a male presence is ever prominent, whether we crave or despise it, the intergenerational ideas about roles and responsibilities are inescapable. Whether the male subject is intentionally causing discomfort or oblivious to the effects of his presence, there is an instinctive reaction to appease or escape the male-gaze.The way in which societal values are so deeply embedded call into question whether it is really possible to truly “de-center” men from our lives, even in queer relationships and spaces, it seems almost impossible to escape the androcentric ideas that are ingrained in our nature.Perhaps it is not just a matter of us “de-centering” the man, but also the responsibility of him to recognise and remove himself from the role of supremacy he has been taught to assume.

Host or Publisher Vicky Gunning