The Bechdel Test has three criteria to test a story for gendered diversity.

1. There must be at least two female characters,
2. they must talk with each other,
3. and they must talk about something other than a male character.

It's been very intesting to apply this test to my favorite books and movies, determining which pass and which fail. But can this test really be applied to stories that revolve around relationships, especially heterosexual relationship? Maybe in such stories this is not the best method for testing for gendered diversity.

And, what about in stories that revolve around the romantic and sexual relationships of queer persons? Does a lesbian romance still pass the Bechdel Test if two female characters are talking with each other about another female character? What if the story revolves around a gay male romance? What about if two bisexual female characters are talking about the male and female characters that they're in love with?

How is the Bechdel Test applied in the case of relationships involving trans characters, or characters with non-binary or undeclared gender identities?

Overall I think the Bechdel Test can be applied to a wide variety of stories, but in romance stories I think it gets a little trickier. There are times when I talk with a woman about a man. Does this conversation fail the Bechdel Test? And if so, does it fail because of the subject matter of the conversation, because I'm a pre-op male-to-female trans person, or both?

Now, maybe it's silly to try and apply the Bechdel Test to real-life conversations. After all, the Bechdel Test is about representation in media. But shouldn't the stories in the media represent aspects of real life? If so, then maybe there will be times when it's acceptable to break this test.

I'm not suggesting the Bechdel Test is flawed. On the contrary, I intend to apply it to all my future works. But I don't think that it should be the only test with regards to properly portraying female characters. It's a great starting point. And maybe we need to add new tests that can supplement the Bechdel Test.