Analyzing Stakeholders
There are countless women who have made huge impacts for the feminist community and feminist movement. Counter to many beliefs, feminism is actually about the empowerment of women and equality of women, not the hatred of men and uprising of women. A respected feminist who has paved the way for gender equality is also an important person who represents feminism itself.
Alison Bechdel is a comic book artist, writer, and feminist. She is a very respected feminist who has made huge impacts for the feminist movement in the twentieth century. In the “about” tab of Becdhel’s website it states, “Bechdel self-syndicated Dykes to Watch Out For for twenty-five years, from 1983 to 2008. The award-winning generational chronicle has been called “one of the pre-eminent oeuvres in the comics genre, period.” (Ms. magazine).” Clearly a successful women who has the credentials to talk about feminism. Bechdel also has a very successful comic strip. “Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For became a countercultural institution among lesbians and discerning non-lesbians all over the planet.” Alison Bechdel uses pathos in her comic book strips, because she plays on people’s emotion by using her sexuality to connect with her audience. She uses scenarios that relate to her audience in her comic book strips that get that attachment from her audience.
She came out as a lesbian at the age of 19, in 1980. She made the decision to be open about her sexuality as a reaction to her father, who was gay and closeted, and who died four months after Bechdel came out. “In many ways my life, my professional career has been a reaction to my father’s life, his life of secrecy,” Bechdel tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. “I threw myself into the gay community, into this life as a lesbian cartoonist, deciding I was going to be a professional lesbian. In a way, that was all my way of healing myself.” Bechtel also wrote a book titled “Fun Home.” A novel about her coming out and how she dealt with her father’s death. The novel then turned into a broadway play. The broadway play won five Tony Awards, including the award for best musical. When asked about watching her novel become a play she said,”I was kind of blown away. I was not at all prepared to hear the music. … It was much more emotional than I had been anticipating.”
Alison Bechdel is also named after “The Bechdel Test.” The Bechdel Test is a litmus test for female presence in fictional media. In order to pass the Bechdel test the film or show must meet the following criteria; it must include at least two women, who have at least one conversation, about something other than a man or men. It’s surprising how many films do not pass this test. This is a great awareness of the patriarchy in the media, and it calls it out. The Bechdel Test made movie and television producers more aware when creating films, hoping to pass the Bechdel Test.
According to the website, “dykestowatchoutfor”, Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For “realistically captured the lives of women in the lesbian community as they influenced and were influenced by the important cultural and political events of the day.” Alison’s credentials when it comes to writing are very respectable. Alison Bechdel received a B.A. (1981) from Oberlin College. She is the editor of Best American Comics (2011), and her comic strip work has been collected in numerous volumes, most recently The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For (2008). Her work has also appeared in such publications as Slate, the New York Times Book Review, McSweeney’s, Granta, and The New Yorker.
Alison Bechdel is one of the countless feminist who has changed the world for women in the United States. She has brought awareness to the feminist community through her work, such as her comic book, her novel, her play, and the Bechdel Test.
Works Cited
“About.” Dykestowatchoutforcom RSS. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
