The above link Describes what is known as the Bechdel Test, which is a test that helps evaluate female presence in media such as books/movies/TV shows etc. The requirements to pass the test seem pretty simple; you need at least 2 female characters, and they have to speak to each other at least once about someone who isn't a guy. It doesn't seem like a very hard test to pass, yet about 80% of movies do not pass.
Not to say that movies that don't pass are necessarily misogynistic, for example the website I listed above mentions Mulan; it's generally considered "One of the most feminist movies in Disney canon" But it fails the Bechdel Test. They also go through a couple of examples of movies that do pass the test, but can be very sexist.
But how does this relate to sexuality?
My topic is sexuality in film, not feminism in film, and although that would be an awesome topic to cover, it's not what I'm supposed to cover. I'm going to relate this to my topic by creating my own test that's similar to the Bechdel Test but deals with sexuality rather than feminism.
To pass the Casey!Bechdel Test, you need two non-heterosexual characters, that talk to each other at least once, about something other than their sexuality. Like above with the original test, there are other circumstances that would be involved with measuring how successfully different sexualities are represented in movies and shows, but I think that would be a very good place to start!
-Casey Coulter
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