Watching movies as a woman can be really annoying sometimes. With so many characters portraying under-developed, weak, hyper-sexualized females, this supposedly great pastime can turn into anything but. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up some of the best streaming originals that pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors. Can I get a “whoop whoop” for strong, smart, independent women?
Here are the best original shows and movies that pass the Bechdel Test.
What is the Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test was made famous by a comic strip by Allison Bechdel in 1985. What is the test? It’s simple really. In order to pass the test, a movie must have:
1) Two named female characters…
2) who talk to each other…
3) about something other than a man.
In a world where films are still not passing this test, we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands. Here’s our list of some of the best, and most current, streaming originals that pass the Bechdel Test.
Original shows and movies that pass the Bechdel Test
1) Happiest Season
Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart (Abby), Mackenzie Davis (Harper), and Daniel Levy (John), follows the story of a young lesbian couple during the holiday season. Abby has a plan to propose to her girlfriend at her family’s holiday party but quickly realizes that she still hasn’t come out to her parents.
Can this couple brave the impending storm? Or will family pressures sink them?
2) Plan B
Victoria Morales and Kuhoo Verma come together to tell a tale as old as time. Teen loses her virginity, contraception goes wrong, Plan B kicks in (literally). At face value, this movie is nothing more than a hilarious telling of an unfortunate story, but if you dig deeper, you realize what this movie is really about. Finding emergency contraception has gotten harder and harder.
Will these teens be able to hunt down their Plan B? Or will there be just too many roadblocks in the way?
3) The Great
The main character in this series is an educated queen-to-be who decides to overthrow the current king of Russia. So yeah, you can definitely expect to see plenty of stimulating conversation between women that have absolutely nothing to do with men.
4) Raya and the Last Dragon
As much as we love the old Disney classics, we might love these new ones even more. Long gone are the days of the helpless princess simply looking for her prince. Follow Raya as she searches for the one thing to bring her home and family back to her; the last dragon.
Are the legends actually real? And can Raya do it all on her own?
5) Cruella
No this isn’t the modern take on 101 Dalmations. This is something much more than that. Academy Award Winner Emma Stone stars in this new iteration of the Cruella story. Here, we see the inception of the famous villain, her roots, and her beginning fascination with the famously spotted coats.
6) Encanto
If you were ever looking for a film that could pass the Bechdel Test, this would be it. This movie about the pressures and pleasures of family-life, will have you teary-eyed in a second. Everyone in Mirabel’s family has been gifted with powers beyond belief, except her. Follow the “outcast” Mirabel as she navigates her extraordinary familial life and tries to find her place in it all.
Will she stay an outcast? Or will the power of family reign supreme?
7) Unpregnant
Featuring breakout star Barbie Ferreira, this HBO original is the next hot take on regulated contraception you didn’t know you needed.
When Ivy-legue bound Veronica Clarke (Haley Lu Richardson) finds out she’s pregnant, she enlists the help of her most chaotic friend to driver her across state lines in order to get an abortion.
Will she be able to make it? And if she does, will she go through with it?
8) Euphoria
Tune into this controversial show about teen battling addictions, heartbreak, betrayal, and so much more. This show passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors.
Rue, the main protagonist, has been struggling with addiction for a long time. On the come up from her latest overdose, can she finally get clean now that she’s found the love of her life?
9) I May Destroy You
While this show centers heavily around a male narrative, its power lies in the female narratives that break through and demand your attention. Emmy Award-Winning ‘I May Destroy You’ follows Arabella (Michaela Coel) as she tries to come to grips with being sexually assaulted at a nightclub in London.
Needless to say, it’s full of insightful prose and meaningful interactions that will have you deep in thought long after you close your computer.
10) Godmothered
To end this list on a light note, we’ve got a great semi-new Disney Original that passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. Godmothered takes an in-depth view, for the first time, at the Fairy Godmother origin story.
We’re all familiar with the Cinderella story, but after so many years, what do we really know about the person key to it all? Finally, go behind the scenes to find out what makes the person central to our most beloved fairy tale tick. This one is a fully approved Bechdel Test movie remake.
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