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The article examines the representation of women in plays available on the National Theatre at Home platform, noting that only seven out of forty plays passed the Sphinx Test for strong female characters. It calls for more deliberate efforts to empower women on stage, particularly through the portrayal of real women's stories in verbatim plays. While progress has been made, the study suggests that further work is necessary to enhance female representation in theatre. The document also provides a comprehensive list of plays and resources related to women in theatre, including reports, interviews, and works by prominent playwrights, offering a diverse range of perspectives and insights for researchers interested in gender representation and feminist perspectives in the field. [Extracted from the article]

Simple Summary: This article introduces a Canine Characters Test, similar to the Bechdel Test, to critically evaluate the representation of dogs in film and television. Drawing on concepts of benevolent speciesism and authenticity, this article argues that portrayals that pass the test support a positive shift in social norms regarding dog–human relationships, which in turn can improve dogs' status under the law. The representation of animals in cinema and television reflects and reinforces dominant ideologies and traditional stereotypes. While popular culture often legitimizes prevailing social norms and existing power relations, it can also reflect shifting cultural attitudes about traditional axes of inequality such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, and species. Representations of canine characters incidentally embedded in family life provide a unique lens through which to consider the evolving cultural and legal status of dogs and their place in multispecies families. This article introduces a Canine Characters Test, similar to the Bechdel Test used to measure the representation of women in movies, to critically evaluate the representation of dogs in film and television. Applying the test and its four criteria—Role in Narrative, Agency, Language, and Animality—to two examples, this article argues that portrayals that pass the test support a positive shift in social norms regarding dog–human relationships, which in turn bolsters efforts to elevate dogs' status under the law. Benevolent speciesism, authenticity, and problematic tropes such as vanishing, ornamental, and miraculous canines are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Just Julie's Fine" by Theric Jepson follows the story of Julie Them, a BYU student in 2005 who embodies the Mary Sue archetype, with her exceptional beauty and intelligence captivating everyone around her. The novel explores Julie's struggle with societal expectations tied to her attractiveness, leading her to question her path towards marriage and motherhood. Through various perspectives, the book satirizes BYU dating culture and Mormon beliefs, ultimately highlighting Julie's journey towards self-discovery and the importance of her relationships with other women. The narrative offers a nuanced portrayal of a young woman navigating complex societal norms and personal identity within a specific cultural context. [Extracted from the article]

Gender inequality in the film industry and the barriers women encounter are referred to as the "celluloid ceiling." To fully understand the structural and social causes of this phenomenon, comprehensive data collection and analysis are required. The current research aims to explore women's representation in student projects to examine how women studying in film schools encounter the celluloid ceiling before graduating and entering the workforce. For this purpose, 266 short films submitted over three years to a student film competition in Türkiye were investigated. The gender distribution in leadership positions, such as producing, directing, and screenwriting, as well as technical and acting roles, were examined. The study also looked at how having a woman in a leadership position in a film affected recruiting more women for positions behind the camera. The findings revealed that women are underrepresented behind the camera compared to men, and the proportion of women working behind the camera was higher when a female director or producer was present. A female director's or screenwriter's presence in a film also significantly affected passing the Bechdel-Wallace Test, an indicator of on-screen representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridget Whearty's book, "Digital Codicology: Medieval Books and Modern Labor," explores the history of digitization and metadata associated with pre-modern manuscripts. Whearty presents case studies from her own career, highlighting the behind-the-scenes work of curators, catalogers, data managers, and imaging specialists who make digital access to manuscripts possible. She also addresses the privilege of access and the challenges of standardization and discoverability in digital cataloging. The book offers valuable insights into the digitization process and its implications for the study of medieval manuscripts. [Extracted from the article]

The article reviews the performance of "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh, highlighting its importance for disability service providers, discussing its theatrical accolades, and critiquing its portrayal of disability.

Women in the Arab world have never had better access to education and professional careers. Despite this, gender stereotypes are hampering women's progression towards gender equality. This article considers how the representation of women in film is contributing to the issue. The representation of female lawyers in Lebanese and Egyptian cinema over the last 75 years demonstrates gender disparity. On the scarce occasions when female lawyers are represented, they are confined to a caretaker role and associated with family disputes. By associating female lawyers with the family, they are put into the traditional Arab role of a woman, reinforcing the imbedded stereotypes that hamper the career progression of Arab women. We do not see male family members contributing to family obligations, which would demonstrate a significant move towards gender parity. Female lawyers are often defined by a relationship, romantic or otherwise, with a male protagonist. This perpetuates the patriarchal norm that Arab women are subordinate to their male relatives. There has been a shift towards greater gender equality in the representation of female lawyers in contemporary portrayals in Lebanese cinema. However, female lawyers still most often appear in isolation, giving them the status of an anomaly, the "Other". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bechdel test is increasingly used in academia as a quality indicator for the portrayal of women in films. Previous studies explored how passing the Bechdel test affects box office earnings. However, earlier considerations were all limited to the US market. Therefore, the impact of the Bechdel test on international box office receipts is still unclear. To fill this research gap, this study examines the box office effect for internationally released films at the country level. Using a sample of 515 randomly selected Hollywood films, it is shown that passing the test significantly improves international box office earnings. However, the results also show that the effect depends on the level of socioeconomic development in the respective countries. Cultural discount theory is used to explain the empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To encourage girls and women to pursue STEAM careers, it is crucial to increase the positive representation of female role models in science. The study uses the Bechdel test and an adapted Greimas Actantial Method to analyse mainstream films. Results show that female characters are often attractive, Caucasian scientists, not mothers, and play secondary roles above all. The most represented careers were in Biology, Astronomy, and Social or Human Behavioural Sciences. Representation of women in leadership positions in the STEAM sector in commercial movies is clearly deficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds upon Laura Mulvey's idea of the Male Gaze to conduct a feminist reading of the video game series Batman: Arkham (2009-2015). It does so by using Bechdel Test to analyze the depiction of the major female characters appearing in the series. The article investigates why portrayal of the women characters in video games is always problematic and how Batman: Arkham franchise becomes yet another transmedia text that fails in showing its female characters accurately. The textual analysis of the games confirms that the video game industry protects and perpetuates male privilege through the hypersexualization and objectification of female characters. As a result, the study further identifies a noticeable lack of compelling female characters in the video game series. Thus, the investigation calls for the necessity of a neutral and unbiased counter gaze for the legitimate portrayal of the women characters in the video game narratives as well as proper gender representation in the fast-growing game industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the Bechdel test in Swedish journalistic discourse, showing how the A-rating campaign – sometimes described as a movement – popularized the concept in Sweden in 2013. In addition, criticism of the Bechdel test and A-rating is linked to criticism of recent Swedish cultural policy on film through the common denominator of contrasting quantification with quality. Finally, the article shows how the Bechdel test has inspired computer-based analytical approaches to gender on-screen that would merit further explorations in feminist film scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Área Abierta is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bu çalışmada uluslararası alanda pek çok makale ve teze konu olan “Bechdel Test” tanıtılmış ve testin feminist sinemaya katkısı ve eksik yönleri tartışmaya açılmıştır. Türkiye sinema araştırmalarında bugüne dek gündeme gelmemiş olan Bechdel Test’ten yola çıkılarak, Türk sinemasında kadının temsiline yeni bir pencereden bakılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı’nın 2014 yılında yaptığı halkoylamasıyla seçilmiş olan “En İyi 10 Türk Filmi”ne Bechdel Test uygulanmıştır. Bu filmlerde ortaya konulan kadına dair söylem, karşılaştırmalı bir değerlendirme yapmaya olanak sağlaması ve Bechdel Test verilerinin sağlamasının yapılması amacıyla, metin analizi yöntemi ile de incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, Bechdel Test’in ölçüm biçiminin sınırlılığından ötürü, testi geçen filmlerin tümünün feminist bakış açısına sahip olduğunun iddia edilemeyeceği ortaya konulmuştur. Bunun yanı sıra, 1985 yılında sinema ve kadın ilişkisine mizahi bir biçimde bakılarak ortaya çıkarılan Bechdel Test’in, sinemada kadın temsili konusunda yarattığı geniş farkındalığa da dikkat çekilmiştir. Yapılan çalışmada incelenen filmlerin pek çoğunun Bechdel Test’in oldukça basit üç koşulunu dahi tamamıyla sağlayamamış olduğunun görülmesi, Türk sinemasında kadının yokluğunun gözler önüne serilmesi bakımından önemlidir. Çalışmada testin Avrupa ülkelerindeki kullanımına ve bu testten hareketle yeni film ölçekleri de geliştirilebileceğine değinilerek, Türk sinemasında toplumsal cinsiyet temsili kriterlerinin oluşturulmasının gereği ortaya konulmuştur.

The purpose of this study was to determine if, how, and how much women's representation has changed in health care on American television (1965-2019) to help understand how popular culture portrays and treats women. It was hypothesized that women's representation in the health care field on American television has become less stereotypical and more equitable as determined by the nine-point quantifiable rubric from 1965-2019. The rubric underwent interrater reliability tests twice with ten experienced raters. The researcher reviewed 600 medical dramas from 40 different American television shows. Through the quantitative content analysis, women's representation in the health care field on American television's average scores consistently went up by decade from 10.20 for 1965-1974 to 37.10 for 2015-2019, which supported the hypothesis and was very highly significant at .001. Results were also tracked for the nine rubric categories (score range 0-5)--actual presence (1.28 for 1965-1974 to 4.85 for 2015-2019), medical Bechdel Test (.88 to 3.99), story line (1.53 to 4.89), screen time (.89 to 3.91), balance of power (.82 to 4.21), physical depiction (1.75 to 4.32), medical procedures (.87 to 4.32), race and gender (1.13 to 3.64), and sexual harassment (1.04 to 2.97) with significance noted in the sub-sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how the directors of two selected case study -lms criticise the real-life remnants of patriarchy in the family sphere, in nominally gender-equal Yugoslavia. I argue that they do this by transposing their stories from socialist Yugoslavia to the pre-socialist times: during Ottoman rule and monarchist Yugoslavia. The selected period -lms Breza/"e Birch Tree (Ante Babaja,).+#, Yugoslavia) and Roj/"e Beehive aka "e Swarm (Miodrag 'Mica' Popovic,).++, Yugoslavia), both belonging to the Yugoslav novi !lm (New Film) movement ().+)-).#%), refract the workings of the vestiges of patriarchy in a family domain of Yugoslav socialist society. In these two costume dramas, patriarchy is portrayed to its fullest extent, due to their stories being set in the past, ostensibly unrelated to contemporary Yugoslav society and thus uninhibited by the drive to cater to the o/cial discourse of female emancipation. Applying a critical -lm feminist perspective, by formal analysis via close readings of these two selected -lms, this article examines the iconography linked to -ctional depictions of heroines and delves into the representation of victimisation of women. I investigate whether the depiction of the female sorceress(es) embody the primitiveness, ignorance, and/or poverty of economically disadvantaged and historically oppressed pre-socialist village. In order to peruse not only the individual portrayal of female protagonists but the dynamics of their interaction, the Bechdel test is applied and complemented with concepts such as the 'reversed masquerade' and 'cryptomatriarchy', which sheds light on the relationship between women and the presence or absence of female solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data science can offer answers to a wide range of social science questions. Here we turn attention to the portrayal of women in movies, an industry that has a significant influence on society, impacting such aspects of life as self-esteem and career choice. To this end, we fused data from the online movie database IMDb with a dataset of movie dialogue subtitles to create the largest available corpus of movie social networks (15,540 networks). Analyzing this data, we investigated gender bias in on-screen female characters over the past century. We find a trend of improvement in all aspects of women's roles in movies, including a constant rise in the centrality of female characters. There has also been an increase in the number of movies that pass the well-known Bechdel test, a popular—albeit flawed—measure of women in fiction. Here we propose a new and better alternative to this test for evaluating female roles in movies. Our study introduces fresh data, an open-code framework, and novel techniques that present new opportunities in the research and analysis of movies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper presents the partial results of an interdisciplinary research following an innovation project funded by the University of Salamanca. Gender studies within the framework of intersectionality emerge as an analytical tool through which to understand the complexity of the world, the diversity of people and experiences. Social inequalities, in this case related to gender, sexuality, age or life skills, after youth are the driving forces behind research. The media is all-powerful as a reflection screen of social and cultural models, of male and female patterns. Methodology: The chosen methodology was based on the application of the Bechdel test, to differentiate the presence and the dialogical issue between the two female protagonists, and on the Rydel Inclusion, to evaluate the gender representation on the artistic-technical teams. The purpose is the identification of gender stereotypes and their disruption on the series Grace and Frankie, where protagonists are over 70 years old and keep on overcome the psychological barrier of the 70 years showing continuously vital expectations, on an active and intense way Results: There is a paradigm change of the traditional stereotypes presentation so that senior protagonists continue to have important vital principles, accepting weaknesses as an age result, or as something natural and existential. Conclusions: The outcome show surprising data on the Rydel test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Arts Management is the property of International Journal of Arts Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to extend the scope of cultural criminological research through an investigation of gender representation in 21st Century Bollywood films focusing on portrayals of Sexually Transgressive Behaviour (STB). A sample of nine films released between 2000 and 2016 was analysed against a set criterion that includes: off-screen gender demographics, three tests to analyse the scope of the female character, incidents of Sexually Transgressive Behaviour (STB) and the male gaze. The results demonstrate that Bollywood continues to be a male-dominated industry and that female narratives are largely neglected. The majority of films analysed (six films) demonstrate a blatant objectification of women and seven of these demonstrated clear manifestations of STB. Only two of the nine films pass the Bechdel-Wallace test (a test which indicates the number of female characters, their interactions, and nature thereof), only three films show an independent female character arc and five films have replaceable female characters. This paper concludes that Bollywood films show the potential of being criminogenic (tending to produce crime) and the overall results are indicative that there is ample scope for further academic studies of Bollywood through a cultural criminological lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract ‘I really got my Les Miz on in this score, like being really smart about where to reintroduce a theme’, noted Lin-Manuel Miranda soon after Hamilton’s off-Broadway opening in early 2015. Indeed, both in its techniques of thematic recurrence and in its continuous musicalization, Miranda’s approach follows his acknowledged model. Yet, Les Misérables more deeply pervades Hamilton’s dramaturgy than even Miranda has noted, as can be seen in several remarkable parallels between plot, characters and dramatic structure. Taken together, these and other analogies between the shows suggest that Hamilton retraces the dramatic and emotional arcs of Les Misérables, which Miranda has described as one member of the ‘Holy Trinity’ of Broadway shows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bechdel test is a popular measure used to examine the adequacy of representation of women in movies, and other media. Although often applied to Hollywood movies, the test has rarely, if ever, been used to assess Hindi cinema. This paper adopts, adapts, and extends the original Bechdel test to scrutinise stereotypical, non-stereotypical, and typical dialogic content of same-sex conversations in three genres of Hindi cinema – top-grossing blockbuster films, women-centric movies, and parallel cinema. Using a qualitative approach to code dialogues, and quantifying subsequent frequencies, the current work highlights the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of female characters in contemporary Hindi cinema. The time taken for men to speak to men and women to speak to women was also quantified. While women-centric and parallel films depict a more balanced portrayal of male and female characters, top-grossing films are heavily lopsided, with some being devoid of a second female lead, and hence of female-to-female dialogues. Male characters spoke of more varied areas, both stereotypical and non-stereotypical, than women particularly in top-grossing content. The implications of such depictions in cinema, and their subsequent effect on perceptions of men and women in society, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the notion of "The Bechdel Test," which measures women's film dialogue using a simple quantitative formula. Particular focus is given to the creator of the test, comic artist Alison Bechdel. Additional topics discussed include books about women's dialogue and voices in film, how blogs are using Bechdel's test to rate films and media scholars and their analysis.

In this article, the author examines implications of friendship for French women writers of the mid-twentieth century. Various authors are discussed including Monique Wittig, Simone de Beauvoir, Nathalie Sarraute and Violette Leduc. Additional topics discussed include the Bechdel Test, friendship between women as a social and philosophical fact, and gender politics in the literary world.

The article presents information on the Bechdel Test that provided structural criteria that might make a text feminist or or a non-misogynist. Topics discussed include similarities between the test and film ratings warning viewers of strong language, violence, or sexual content, test's convergence with contemporary digital humanities and Social network analysis as practiced in sociology.

Teaching with film is viewed as a pedagogical best practice, especially when teaching historical or social studies content. Many of the most popular films used to teach history topics leave women's voices out of the narrative. Women's history is generally left out of traditionally male-dominated history curriculum; when it is included, it is usually in the margins or in sidebars. This article promotes the use of historical films that have a female presence. How women are portrayed in film and how to choose films that meet the criteria of the Bechdel Test for women in film are also examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Between 55% and 70% of makers are male. • Maker spaces put much effort in attracting a diverse clientele by offering free trainings to all, having no or low membership fees or by reducing the complexity of machines through practical and simple procedures. • Quantitative data regarding use times by gender reflect these findings relating to gendered objects. • A division between 'crafting' and 'making' becomes visible between female and male makers: While men tend to have an engineering background, female makers often work in design, communication and social relations area. • Our study reveals a lack of female role models as maker space managers. In this paper we explore gender issues in the maker movement using four different methods of data analysis: standardised questionnaires, analysis of makerspaces' social media, statistical analysis of machine use and the coding of interviews and focus groups. The objective is to give a voice to female makers and makerspace managers, looking at the maker movement from an inside perspective. The paper demonstrates how gendered stereotypes are still reproduced within the maker movement. Makerspaces still attract considerably more males than females and exhibit a primarily "male" culture, reflected in the interior design of places, or by the language and attitudes of their members. Females in makerspaces, however, often have a background in communications, arts or design, as opposed to the coding or engineering background of the males. Previous research has shown how machines and materials also take on gendered connotations. The "genderisation" of objects refers to an attributed gender-specific use of machines. An example here could be that 3D printing, which is more often used by female makers compared to male members of makerspaces. Our research also identifies promising approaches for tackling the issue of gender imbalance. The maker movement has significant potential to improve gender equality as younger generations bring societal change to makerspaces and break with stereotypes. One of the findings our paper puts forward is the lack of female role models, especially in leading positions. Our data suggest that the maker scene still has to develop a tradition in reflecting questions around gender stereotypes or their role in partly reproducing them. Hence, we argue that the maker community should be more attentive to this issue and should make a concerted effort to become more diverse. Overall, our case research did not reveal any explicit animosity to gender questions; on the contrary, male makers and most maker communities showed great interest in avoiding gender stereotyping. We suggest applying the Bechdel-Test as a simple tool for clarifying gender topics and encouraging self-reflection among makers. Overall, our paper aims to support makerspaces that want to make diversity part of their strategy for future growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]