Mumsnet Talk

Yeah, Relationships not so much (but wouldn't pass a reverse Bechdel if a man was the OP, I expect). But some posts do eg practical aspects of planning a divorce.

I have just finished reading Night Waking by Sarah Moss, which passes easily - even though the narrator spends most of her time on an island with only her husband and two young male children for company.

Also just read Life, Death and Vanilla slices by Jenny Eclair. Which I am 99% sure passed. The three central characters were all female. And Run by Ann Patchett, which passes.

I am carrying out an experiment, inspired by SGM on these boards to just read books written by women for a few months. Very refreshing!

Yeah, Joan, The Hobbit doesn't stand a chance! Watched it in the cinema, and then DD2 asked who was my favourite character. I said Galadriel, as she was the only woman (in 3 hours or so). She gets about 5 min on screen I think. One of the kids pointed out there was a female hobbit early on, who even had a speaking part, she says something like "Good luck."

DD2 said her favourite character was the pony Myrtle - who after all is a female...

DH said there must be female dwarves, elves and orcs somewhere in order to reproduce, but I'm not so sure .

In one of the Tolkien books it was explained (perhaps by a dwarf) that female dwarves look so much like male dwarves (or is it the other way round ) that "people" often assumed that dwarves don't reproduce in the traditional way (!?) but are born of the earth.

Do I win a prize for remembering the most useless things I read?

Or was that in the movies!? Anyway.

I feel a bit sorry for The Master, since it's all about a very very controlling man and his mad cult of acolytes: surely no two people would have been permitted to talk about anything other than HIM?

Right now: watching Tracey Beaker (with poorly DC) - pass
Rereading the Peabody series of Egyptological murders (Elizabeth Peters) - pass

Reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Pass

TheDoctrine, Evie and the Queen talked about the dogs, so today's episode did indeed pass.

Mike the Knight is an odious little turd though, which cancels out any Bechdel test passes, I think.

I'm reading Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel. Passing test so far.

AmandaPayne I still can't remember whose suggestion it was to read only books written by women but it's been 18 months now and I am reading so much more and enjoying them so much more. I'm currently ploughing threw Rose Tremain's back catalogue but Lisa O'Donnell's The Death of Bees is my most favourite book that i've read in ages. I bored everyone senseless on twitter about it

I think I have seen you talking about that one on your blog. I must put it on my list.

I am currently working away at my new local library (just moved) so going for books by authors I have enjoyed previously (Ann Patchett - I enjoyed Bel Canto. Although I couldn't be sure it passes, but for plot reasons very few on the characters can actually talk to one another as they don't speak the same language. I'd have to go back and look. And also see whether conversations through a male translator count!). Also, random books that seem light or just jump out at me from the shelves.

I have a couple of Atwoods coming up, which I would hope would pass. I just lurve her . I read 'The Year of the Flood' just before Christmas, which again would pass easily - and hence where I got my current name.

'Call the Midwife' failed because they were talking about abusive partners / prostitution and the doctor needing a button sewn on his coat by a woman because his wife had died. Odd. Considering it is marketed as being about babies, it is actually about the misery women find themselves in as caused by men.

Does listening to something count? The comedy series 'Clare in the Community' on R4 was a massive argument between Clare and Nali exploiting her previous role as the family nanny to Thomas, so failed.

Yet last weeks episode was about how Helen was committing massive fraud in relation to expenses, so passed as Helen and Clare were talking about work. Any male characters that talk to one another are normally talking about their relationships with women too.

sgm for the last 20 years I have only read novels by women or gay men (unless reading crime fiction), but in the last year I have started to read male writers again and have not been enjoying reading anywhere near as much as I used to. It may be time to give up on my heterosexual male writer experiment.

at harrietspy

I'm watching room 101 and it passes this week but often doesn't.

Earlier today I watched Charmed - pass, The big bang theory - pass but not in the first series I think.

I'm reading Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews - passes easily.

But how can Room 101 pass or fail? There's only one person on it a week isn't there? And they're always talking to a bloke?

Not any more, there are 3 guests who battle it out to get their thing put into room 101. Today there were 2 women as guests and they were debating which of their things should go in, so it passed. When there are 2 men and only 1 woman as guests then it fails.

Reading A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. I think it fails. Which means Wolf Hall would fail too. Bit of a surprise.

Wordgirl Passes with flying colours.

It's no coincidence that she won the Booker for books written in a man's voice which comprehensively fail the test. I love the books but hate the Booker.

I'm not reading anything atm due to lack of inspiration but I can identify the worst failure in film in 2012. Killing Them Softly. Hundreds of men. One unnamed woman in the entire 100 minute saga. She plays, guess what, a hooker. Honestly I don't know how they convince themselves this is ok.

Parks and recreation yesterday which not only passed but had a specifically feminist plot and 30 rock yesterday passed too.

oh and i watched ashes to ashes last night which i am pretty sure passed too

I don't think there's a Rankin book that will pass as all his main characters are always male and the minor characters don't talk to each other much.

I'm reading a book about sailing in the caribbean - the female in the sailing couple often talks to local women about food and cooking.
And I'm watching Bones, where two female characters often talk about the case.

silent witness..
kind of passes.