The Music Gear Bechdel Test

On the heels of the recent Burger Records scandal, the issue of the root causes of sexual violence is at the forefront of our minds. These conversations often turn to all of the bits and pieces that make up our rape culture— that is, a culture where sexual violence becomes normalized. The components of rape culture include things like victim-blaming, belief in rape myths, objectification, and support for strict gender stereotypes. 

As you can probably imagine, a lot of this is also connected to the issue of media representation, where many of these ideas are learned and enforced.

Let’s dig deep on this.

I have often told the story of buying my first Guitar World Buyer’s Guide at age 14 - essentially the Swimsuit Edition of music gear. The representation of women in that magazine was the first time it occurred to me that, perhaps, guitar wasn’t for me. While there has been significant positive movement since the 1990s (and since 2016, with pressure from She Shreds and companies/advertisers, this imagery was pulled from the issue), there is still a ton of work to do. Representation is still a problem in the music gear industry and music industry more broadly.

So, how do we address this?

Enter the Bechdel Test.

The Bechdel Test is a test to determine gender representation in movies. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. It became popularized in the 90s and into the 2000s. 

In order to pass the test, a movie must have:

1. Two women who are named

2. Who must talk to each other

3. About something other than a man

Since the early 2000s, the number of films that pass the test have hovered around 55% with small changes year to year. That sounds pretty good, right? Well, one of the critiques of the test is that it sets the bar VERY LOW. This does not account for the plotline, movie quality, or anything else. And it could mean that the women are portrayed in highly stereotypical ways. The “qualifying” conversation could be about shopping, cooking, babies or the like (not that those are a problem in and of themselves!). This bar is LOWWWW.

The Bechdel Test has been adapted by many folks, either to focus on a particular field, like theater, or a particular identity, such as black or LGBTQ folks.

In that spirit, I have created the Music Gear Bechdel Test. I will add that the main focus here is specifically on advertising and marketing, including social media. 

Okay, here’s how it works:

1. There is a woman

2. She is presented as a capable musician

3. All sexual, appearance-related, or offensive social media comments about her are promptly and appropriately addressed or screenshot/deleted

4. If she is a woman of color, she is not presented using racial stereotypes

5. If she is a trans woman, her identity and pronouns are respected

6. If she is presented with an instrument that has a traditionally feminine aesthetic (pink, with flowers or sparkles, etc.), there is a companion ad featuring a woman with an instrument that is not traditionally feminine in aesthetic

7. If she is presented sexually, it is on her own terms, and there is a companion ad featuring a woman who is not presented sexually (read about the difference between sexual empowerment and objectification here)

As you can see, this is somewhat more detailed than the original Bechdel Test, to raise the bar a bit. 

A few notes or caveats - of course, the first item, “there is a woman”, means that this is an issue of representation. Ideally, the level of representation would be AT LEAST in line with the population and preferably higher, to make up for a lack of past representation. 

Also, each one of these items could go much, much deeper. For example, this in no way, addresses all intersectional oppressions that a woman might experience. And it doesn’t go into further detail on the two that are - race and gender identity. It also doesn’t specifically cover experiences of non-binary folks. Lastly, it doesn’t address issues like representation of artists on a company’s roster or number of artist model or signature pieces.

Despite those caveats, I do think it is a potentially useful tool for companies in addressing the representation of women in their marketing and social media. One of the major issues with representation is that due to the small numbers of women represented, their representations are often highly stereotyped or narrow. This can lead to a narrowing of expectations for women in line with that representation.

This can be particularly troubling if the representation features stereotypes that are in line with rape culture, such as women serving men or being objectified, or women of color being treated as exotic or hypersexualized. While it is in no way the ONLY cause, this type of representation sets the stage for and dangerously normalizes situations like what happened with Burger Records.

Check out a few music gear company social media pages— do they pass the test? Send me a message and let me know what you find!