An artist of a different kind for day 24, Alison Bechdel (1960 – )
Alison Bechdel is a lesbian American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir Fun Home. Bechdel’s sexuality and gender non-conformity are a large part of the core message of her work. “The secret subversive goal of my work is to show that women, not just lesbians, are regular human beings.”
Dykes to Watch Out For is the origin of the ‘Bechdel test,’ which has become a frequently used metric in cultural and gendered discussion in film studies. The test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in films and other fiction, and to call attention to gender inequality in fiction due to sexism.
Her work can be explored on the Dykes to Watch Out For website: http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/