The “My Generation” section is about the practice and theory of feminism: contradictions are part of it

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The classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the action movie The Avengers, and the children’s movie Toy Story have something in common: they don’t pass the Bechdel test. The test for films developed by author Alice Bechdel is quite simple. You just need to meet three requirements:

1. There are at least two named female characters in the film.
2. They talk to each other.
3. The conversation is not about a man.

You’d be surprised how many films fail this simple test. This is why it is highly respected in my circle and is often used retrospectively after going to the cinema.

When I recently returned home from a bachelorette party, I noticed that all the time we spent together was filled not only with wine and laughter, but also with conversations about men. My friends and I seriously failed the Bechdel Test! This is diametrically opposed to my principles. This is problem?

After all, it is my generation that is often accused of such inconsistencies. We’d always like the Five and S’Weggly to be climate activists and travellers. But often it is we who judge ourselves more harshly. If someone acts differently than their Instagram profile suggests, Gen Z judges face the harshest punishment: then they lie.

Such accusations create a certain fear, which fuels a new trend: to fix everything. For example, some people suddenly declare cosmetic surgery feminist in order to justify their own cosmetic procedures. I have no problems with such operations. But I don’t think they’re feminists either. Because both things go hand in hand: you can call yourself a feminist and have a nose – and still be a good person.

The line between inconsistency and hypocrisy is, of course, thin. Anyone who changes their mind every day is a flag in the wind. But we must leave ourselves some room for disagreement. No one can be completely straightforward, perhaps not even hardliner Andreas Glarner.

Because practice and theory have different names, because they are different things. Life always gets in the way. Especially on social media, it’s so easy to reveal only one side of yourself that it’s easy to forget that ideals and desires rarely match reality.

I will definitely continue to laugh and chat at bachelorette parties – and if any of us need it, then even just about men. But I will continue to be critical of films that don’t portray women at all or only portray them as men-obsessed creatures. Because this is what happens in life: sometimes you pass the test, and sometimes you don’t.

Noah Dibbeysi (22 years old) studies social sciences at the University of Bern. She writes to Blick every other Friday.

Source: Blick