Alison Bechdel

I have been accessing the Chester County Library System these last few months, "holding" books from other libraries in the system so that they can be transferred to my local library in Spring City. 

A few weeks ago, I picked up two books, one from a writer I have already mentioned, Elaine Pagels, about which I posted earlier this month, and a book by Alison Bechdel.

Bechdel is an American cartoonist who began documenting the life of herself and her friends in a comic strip known as "Dykes to Watch Out For" in the 1980's. The book I borrowed was titled "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For", a compilation of various episodes from her long running strip. 

To say that Bechdel's efforts was/is groundbreaking is a monumental understatement. Besides creating one of the first representations of lesbians in pop culture, she helped popularize the Bechdel test which established a measure used to assess the representation of women in fiction, especially in film, the application of which clearly demonstrated the lack of women and their relationships in media. 

To pass the test, the film needed to feature at least two female characters who have a conversation about something other than a man. A bar seemingly low enough, but one which was not eclipsed very often.

"Dykes..." on the other hand bombards us with the details of the relationships between the mostly female characters, in addition to their political and social opinions. A perspective not common in the vast majority of movies, and frankly, history itself. 

In addition to this unique viewpoint, reading the compilation took me down memory lane, as all the critical issues since the 1980's were discussed, protested against, worried about, and survived, if even only barely.

In some ways, I was humbled, as Bechdel's characters most often act upon their strong beliefs. They go to rallies, form discussion groups, conference with others with similar ideals, and, of course, still manage to hold down jobs, pay their bills, establish long term relationships (even marry when finally legal to do so), and raise children.

They confront the establishment and the forces that try to prevent them from living their fullest lives, while living those lives despite their own character flaws. This is particularly demonstrated by the character Mo who is certainly a reflection of the author, but not immune to having her faults displayed in living color.

What struck me hardest however, was the simple fact that so many of the obstacles that Bechdel's alter egos faced, have not changed all that much. While it is true that the gay community is more widely accepted, the trans community is now the target of the same discrimination which hampered gay and lesbian people forty years ago. 

Even worse, the political situation surrounding the continued capitulation by Congress of its legislative and oversight duties, has worsened with the current administration. Today's Congress is even more spineless than before.

While I can't imagine how Mo, Ginger, Tina, Lois, Harriet, Clarice, Sparrow, etc would navigate the problems we face today, I am confident that they would be in the streets with their No Kings signs, and on the front lines protesting the assault on our environment.

I posted this under the label Equality, a label I have only used twice before. Below is a link to one of those, from early 2017. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2017/02/rudy-and-selflessness-of-majority.html

My biggest take away from "Essential Dykes..." is that Bechdel opened a window into a lifestyle that was unknown to me, while confirming my belief that the people within that community shared the same values, fears, and goals as myself and my family. 

But also, just like in the movie Rudy referred to above, it is only by association with those that are perceived to be different can we truly achieve the ideal of "all men are created equal". 

While I am not privy to Bechdel's reasoning for her comic strip, I would like to think that she wanted to demonstrate how many ways in which the gay/lesbian community was like the straight community, while also depicting some traits that made them different as well, traits not just related to which gender attracted them.

It is a point of view that we seem to have lost in America today, replaced by the emphasis on how we are different, who is more different, and the attachment of blame in conjunction to how those differences can be emphasized. 

Polarization on steroids.

And so the decline continues.