For those who may not be familiar with it, the Bechdel Test is a gauge of whether a work of fiction features independent female characters. The requirements are that there must be two women who have at least one conversation together in which they don't talk about a man. The idea is that women should … Continue reading How Useful is the Bechdel Test in Writing?
Tag: Feminism
Souls Discovered by Miranda Brock Genre: Young Adult fantasy Description from Goodreads: Spin away with young Autumn as she finds a seemingly innocuous gold necklace on her family’s farm and inadvertently uncovers her destiny as “The Keeper.” Autumn’s discovery of the necklace activates “The Window” and alerts both good and evil forces to her whereabouts. Autumn is … Continue reading Book Review – Souls Discovered
I realized that I've been looking at racism a lot from an artistic and a personal viewpoint. But this doesn't always cover all there is to be said, so I wanted to look at it more philosophically. In the light of all that is going on in our country, there are many questions we have … Continue reading Affirmative Action and Our Hearts
This Monday, we looked at the general state of pregnancy in literature, and today, I wanted to highlight two examples that I felt did an amazing job of keeping their focus on the pregnant women involved in their narratives. One is dramatic, the other comedic, but both have the woman front-and-center. The first passage is … Continue reading Birth and Pregnancy in Literature, Part Two
I feel like pregnant women get one of the worst roles in literature. Their experience is used as a means to complicate the plot, to firmly entrench the woman’s role in the family, or sometimes, as a way of removing the woman altogether (as in stories where the woman dies in childbirth, like Downton Abbey, … Continue reading Birth and Pregnancy in Literature, Part One
Recently, there has been an outcry against rape as a plot point in stories, most recently the blog post petitioning against Reign’s use of it in a future episode. They cite how dangerous it can be to portray such a sensitive topic the wrong way and how it reinforces society’s negative portrayal of rape victims, … Continue reading Does Rape Ever Belong?
I recently came across a post with a list of female artists that keep their clothes on, and many of the comments intrigued me. Some suggested that these female artists are more appropriate role models than their less-clothed counterparts while others disagreed, feeling that women should have the right to wear as little or as … Continue reading How Free Should Fashion Be?
Andrea Lundgren 