I have grown decidedly more Feminist in my thinking over the years which has made enjoying theatre harder to enjoy lately. There are, of course, excellent shows with diverse and interesting female casts but more often then not, the female characters are flat and uninteresting. It seems like Theatre show creators, performers, and viewers are often more liberal than the average community of people but strangely, despite this, sexism is still rampant. Something I often think about when viewing TV shows and Movies is whether or not what I am viewing would pass the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test, for those who are not familiar, was created by Alison Bechdel in her 1985 comic, “Dykes to Watch Out For” and has become a well-known measurement of gender bias in movies. Basically to pass the test the movie must have three things: Two female characters (preferably named), Who talk to each other, About something other than a man. When I first learned about this test I wasn't overl
Last night I came home after a games night and went to sit down on my couch and just expected to see her there. Waiting for me. Curled up and napping. Her bright green eyes would open up at the sound of my approach and a "breowwww" would escape her mouth as she stretched and got up to say hello. My friend and companion of 20 years. She was my first pet - the first one I chose for myself. I was 10 and my Dad took my sister and I to a house where someone was giving away a batch of kittens for free. I saw her there - the smallest, scrawniest little kitten of the batch and the only black one. The rest of the kittens were tabby. I was drawn to her and ran and grabbed her right away. There was no question, no considering, this was my cat. We had our ups and downs but she was always there. Now she's not and it's left a hole. A hole that is extremely hard to describe, especially to those who couldn't possibly understand. I still feel her and when I remember that the feel