French Literature Reviews - 2026

The Invention of Bechdel
Art and Visual Culture

How did Alison Bechdel, author of the classic graphic novel Fun Home, popularize the test that bears her name? How did the Bechdel test become an essential tool for measuring gender equality in cinema? In The True History of the Bechdel Test (Denoël), Iris Brey analyzes the surprising impact of a single comic strip published in 1985 in the underground series Dykes to Watch Out For, and traces how it gave birth to a test that brought visibility to the absence of women on our screens while helping to revolutionize mindsets and practices in the medium. By putting Bechdel's work into dialogue with that of Virginia Woolf, Donna Haraway, and Ursula K. Le Guin, Iris Brey places this test within a collective history and shows how the American author, across four graphic novels that have reshaped the global comic book landscape, has contributed to feminism and lesbian visibility.

The graphic novel occupies a significant space in contemporary literature and visual culture, bridging narrative prose and graphic art to address complex social themes. Feminist criticism and gender studies have long examined how media representations shape cultural perceptions of women, particularly regarding visibility and agency on screen and page. Works by authors such as Virginia Woolf, Donna Haraway, and Ursula K. Le Guin form part of a broader intellectual tradition that questions traditional frameworks of gender, identity, and representation in literature and society.

Readers interested in the history of feminist criticism and the evolution of graphic narratives may find this volume relevant. Iris Brey analyses the impact of Alison Bechdel's comic strip from the underground series Dykes to Watch Out For and traces the creation of the Bechdel test. The study also considers Bechdel's four graphic novels and their contribution to feminism and lesbian visibility within the global comic book landscape.