Bechdel Test Movie List

There can be some debate here about how Brandon Teena sexually identifies as a man (so it shouldn't count), but since he is both biologically a woman and at points seems to admit that his womanhood is part of his identity...plus the fact that one of the tenets of the movie is the undefinable aspects of sexual identity...it seems to pass.

I have to disagree - Brandon was pretty clearly male, and calling him female is a disservice.

I agree with Anne. It is a great disservice and hugely disrespectful to refer to a male-identifying character as female. Also, the "seems to admit" that J.C. says is debatable and subjective.

Aside from the Brandon Teena question, do none of the female characters talk to each other about anything other than men?

There are two (Brandon is not count as one of them!)female characters in this film that I can verify that talk to other female characters. Brandon's love interest has lines with her mother.

I would actually say this movie fails. Lana and her mother really don't have any verbal exchanges, save for a few brief interjections with other (male) characters present. Lana speaks to her friend Candace at one point, but the subject of their discussion is her relationship with Brandon.

However, Boys Don't Cry is an extremely important movie: it was one of the first films to sympathetically portray trans* people and their struggles. I advise you watch it even though it fails this test.

P.S. Calling Brandon a woman is extremely offensive (and I say this as a trans individual who encountered a lot of transphobia).

Cloudchamber is spot-on. Please change the rating to 2/3. Having it as 3/3 is transphobic and incorrect. The female characters discuss Brandon. They do not discuss things other than men. No conversation in which Brandon participates qualifies, as there is no evidence to suggest that he identifies as a woman in any way. People who identify as men are men, whether they're cis or trans.

I've updated the rating from 3/3 to 2/3.