Created in the same spirit as the Bechdel Test, the somewhat tongue-in-cheek Frank Miller Test goes to show how much some writers (coughFrankMillercough) are obsessed with writing about sex workers. Like the Bechdel Test, this is not the final word on whether or not a work is feminist, it is merely useful shorthand for a very common trope.

If the proportion of female sex workers to neutrally presented women is above 1:1, the author fails the test.

While sex workers have stories that we want to hear about, it is all too common for writers to create works where the only roles for women are in the sex industry – where the sex industry is the only place that women can be successful. While this could be interpreted as political comment, it all too often seems merely an excuse, especially in visual mediums such as films and comics, to portray lots of scantily-clad young women and pander to the male gaze.

Genres such as historical fiction, noir, crime and detective stories are where this trope is most often found.

The Shortpacked webcomic’s take on Frank Miller. Miller is the creator of Sin City.

The test was first proposed by ‘thene’, blogger at Aaru Tuesday here.

To pass the Bechdel Test, a work must:-

1. Have at least two women in it-

2. who talk to each other-

3. About something other than a man.

Some commentators will stipulate that the women named in 1. must be named characters, and some will add to 3. that the women must not be talking about babies or pregnancy, either.

The test was first mentioned by Alison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. She gives the credit for the idea to her friend, Liz Wallace.

The test is not the final word on whether a work is feminist or not – the work does not become ‘feminist’ merely by passing this test. Rather, the number of works which do not pass the test are a measure of how uninterested a culture is in women and their stories.

A.K.A. the Mo Movie Measure or the Bechdel-Wallace Test.

Some links:

• View the original comic here.
• Watch a video about the Bechdel test in films here.
• Hathor Legacy examines what the spirit of the test should be about: It’s Not About Passing.
• Related: The Frank Miller Test!