Introducing The Betchdel Test, ‘Cause It’s About Damn Time We Saw More Women In Sports Media
Are you a sports girlie getting hyped for NFL season? Are you sick and tired of turning on the TV and only seeing men talk about football? Yeah, us too. That’s why we’re on a mission to make sports coverage more inclusive (and fun) for everyone! We launched Betches Sports because we’re passionate about delivering all the latest sports news with a witty and feminist flair. We’re just cool like that. So if you’re a sports fan who cares about women’s rights and quality memes, you’re so welcome.
Naturally, we would like to see more women broadcasters this football season, and we will be employing the official Betchdel Test (our take on The Bechdel Test) to measure female representation in sports media.
What Is The Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test, which measures the representation of women in movies, originated with Alison Bechdel’s 1985 comic, “Dykes to Watch Out For.” In the famous comic, the cartoonist and writer depicted two queer women chatting about their criteria for determining which movies to watch. Per the comic, there are three simple rules: There must be two women in the movie, they have to talk to each other, and they have to talk about something other than a man. Now, I realize this seems like a concerningly low bar for feminism, but… a shocking amount of movies don’t pass the test.
Alison described the rules as “a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper,” but over the decades, The Bechdel Test has become a mainstream tool to assess gender representation in media. Although it’s mostly used for films, the test can also be applied to books, TV shows, theater, and more. We’re using it for sports!
Introducing Our Version… The Betchdel Test
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Our twist, The Betchdel Test, measures female representation in sports media. Because when’s the last time you saw two women at an NFL roundtable? Yeah, no images are coming to my mind either. Here’s how our test works:
Rule #1: We need… at least two women experts on a broadcast.
Think Erin Andrews and Mina Limes together in one room. I know, near impossible.
Rule #2: They must talk to each other.
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And not just a quick “hi”! These women need to actually have a convo with real, engaging dialogue.
Rule #3: … Somewhere other than the sidelines.
Notice how women are often relegated to being sideline reporters? We’re on the lookout for times where Rule #1 and Rule #2 happen in a studio, not just out on the field.
Use our scorecard below to see if the sports broadcast you’re watching passes The Betchdel Test, and follow Betches Sports on Instagram to stay tuned for our coverage all week long!
The Betchdel Test Score CardImage Credit: Betches
Ilana Frost