We’re in the 21st century ladies, sexism is over, we are finally equal and free! We can anything we want to be - just look at the STEM fields, women now constitute almost 24% of the workforce! And now we can hold government offices! Two out of the twenty United States presidential candidates are women - now that's what I call equal representation. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and instagram have opened up the floor for women to speak their mind - the online harassment and rape threats are not that big of a deal, right? And as for our paychecks, we now get an astounding 78 cents for every dollar a man receives, score!All jokes aside, the fight for gender equality is clearly far from over. So how can we combat both blatant sexist policies as well as those subtle attitudes that pervade our everyday interactions? Many scholars and feminists organizations, including Miss Representation (check out their awesome documentary) are actively fighting the way women are portrayed in the media in the hopes that it can challenge outdated gender stereotypes and empower women. One of the most influential forms of media, film, is one of the worst offenders in their representation of women. Hollywood profits from the trope of the damsel in distress, or the ditzy woman in romantic comedies whose only life goal is to find a man to complete her. And although Hollywood is producing movies with female leads that are making big bucks (Inside Out is kicking butt at #3), the percentage of female-led movies is still ridiculously disproportionate to that of male-led films; only 12% of the top 100 movies in 2014 were women-centered. In fact, the number of women-led films has gone down since 2002, indicating that we are actually moving backwards.Fortunately, Alison Bechdel, an American cartoonist, came up with a measurement of gender portrayal in works of fiction called the Bechdel Test. The test is simple: for the work to pass it must have at least two named women and the women must have a conversation that is not about a guy. Seems simple enough, right? Well I guess Hollywood still needs a bit of tutoring, because only 55.4% of films in 2014 passed it -- a 12% drop from the 67.5% in 2013. The test is significant not just because it makes sure that women are portrayed in films, but also because it encourages dialogue or plot points that do not solely revolve around men. Believe it or not Michael Bay, women have a lot more to offer than just being Shia Labeouf's hot girlfriend. However, many have heavily criticized the Bechdel Test because it is not a foolproof benchmark for rating movies’ gender portrayal; after all, when Run Lola Run, a film with one of the most well-rounded female characters of all time fails the test (Lola never talks to another female), the applicability is quickly called into question. The doubt continues in the consideration of other films that most people would consider a feminist fail -- like many of Disney’s princess movies (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, etc.) -- actually pass the test. These examples of course makes the Bechdel Test problematic, but they do not mean that the test should be dismissed entirely. The premise of the Bechdel Test after all is that it is an attempt to ensure that women are represented in roles that serve as more than accessories to the roles played by men. While the Bechdel Test should not be the only benchmark we measure films against in regards to gender portrayal, and we need to look out for other damaging features in movies, like unrealistic body types, underrepresentation of colored women, and single-faceted characters, it does not warrant throwing out the test altogether.The crux of the matter is that women need to be portrayed as characters in and of themselves, instead of just in relation to men; the girlfriends, wives, and love interests of men are also doctors, scientists, lawyers, entrepreneurs, mothers, daughters, and granddaughters all with their own individual worth and story unrelated to the men in their life. The growing portrayal of strong independent women in movies is a good sign but it cannot be the only standard for female characters either: female characters should also be allowed to be vulnerable, foolish, and in love. Female characters need to be portrayed as experiencing emotions across the full human spectrum, including fear, lust, and hate without needing to attribute them to the character’s gender. You, the consumer, can help make this goal a reality. I encourage you all (both men and women) to be conscious of the movies you watch, to boycott and openly criticize films that are sexist, and make the producers and writers accountable. In other words, create the demand for films that do not treat women like second-class citizens; you will be surprised at how much more interesting movies are when writers are forced to stop telling the same stories over and over again and every woman you see is not passively waiting for superman to come save her. This article was written by Ana Cicenia. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Poster For Tomorrow.org