Okay my friends, we are going to wade into some uncomfortable territory here.  But if it's not a little awkward, I'm not doing my job.

I was recently writing a scene with only two women in it and for the life of me I couldn't make it past the Bechdel Test without boring my readers.

What's The Bechdel Test (sometimes called the Bechdel-Wallace Test)? In a nutshell is a measure of the representation of women in our stories with the aim of gender equality.  To "pass" the test it only takes 3 simple components:

(1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man.

Oooh, that last one caught me up.  And it catches many up.  Check out this video for more information:

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The LGBT Community created The Vito Russo Test in 2013:

1) The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT).

2) That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity

3) The LGBT character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect. 

Check this out for more info

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The DuVernay Test is the racial equivalent and unfortunately its relatively new. I had difficulty even finding information on it to provide here. I suggest researching Ava DuVernay to learn more. Below is a screenshot from a Twitter account with the questions to consider.

And The DisRep Test tries the same with persons with disabilities. Thanks GalaRu57 for pointing this out.

Have you considered these in your writing?