Why I Believe in Equal Marriage Rights for All

As a believer in Christ, it is sometimes difficult to voice my opinion on a touchy subject without sounding hypocritical.  So please bear with me while reading this post.  I want to start out by saying that belief-my interpretation, anyway-isn't based in reason or logic.  By biblical standards, yes, I believe that homosexuality is a sin.  That being said, getting drunk is also a sin.  So is cheating on a test.  My point is, yes, homosexuality is a sin.  But it is their sin, not mine.
Unless you've been living under a rock (or haven't recently logged into Facebook), you've probably heard or read that the Supreme Court is hearing cases concerning the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 this Tuesday and Wednesday.  It has sparked quite a controversy throughout the country, and many have taken to changing their profile pictures in a sign of solidarity for the overturn of both of these acts.
In a country founded in the ideal of freedom for all, I don't find it unfair to liken the Gay Rights Movement to the Civil Rights Movement.  Once upon a time, white folks grabbed their cardboard signs with out of context Bible verses and proudly picketed the streets, perverting the Bible to fit their own agendas.  Today, the LGBT is having a similar experience. In a perfect world, all people would believe in the same god, but we were given free will for a purpose.  So we could choose.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

These words, written over two hundred years ago and crafted by genius men, will forever ring true.  We are all created equally.  So according to the Declaration, we were given three main rights:  life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  America was founded in the principle of freedom, that all are given equal opportunity to excel.  And it is that same freedom that caused our founding fathers to push for the separation of church and state.  Because in a country founded on freedom, it is not only unfair but also unjust for a few individuals to play 'Mother May I' with the rights of all.
To quote a friend of mine, "God doesn't make the laws in America.  We the people, who believe many different things, have to come together to make a common set of laws we can all agree on.  These laws hurt some people who have just as much of a right to be here and have their voice heard as you do."
As we discussed the topic further, she pointed out that somewhere along the way the country has condensed two discussions into one issue.  The first is whether gay couples should have the same rights and privileges under the law as straight couples.  The second of these discussions is whether or not homosexuality is inherently sinful and wrong.  They are both valid questions, but questions that should be debated in different arenas.  Under the law, any couple that is eligible for marriage should be granted the same rights and advantages.  Cases that the Supreme Court hears falls under jurisdiction of the law, and should not be based in moral conviction.  Two committed adults, who want to make the decision to marry, should be recognized under the law:  regardless of their gender, race, color, or sexual orientation.

I'm sorry to anyone I know who reads this and thinks less of me, but I am very unapologetic when I say, "I proudly support equal rights for all."  This is a democracy and as long as it remains so, all people and their rights should be recognized.

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The Bechdel Test and Women in the Media

I was perusing Facebook the other night, and I followed this link one of my friends had shared asking if the movie I was about to watch passed the Bechdel Test.
Intrigued, I read through the short comic which detailed the rules of this test.  Essentially, in order for a movie to pass the Bechdel Test it must meet the following criteria:

1. There must be at least two female characters
2. They must talk to one another
3. And the subject of their discussion can not be a man

At first I thought the Bechdel Test would be similar to those pictures you see on Facebook asking you to "Name a state without the letter 'S' in it" that normally follow with a caption along the lines of, "It's harder than you think" when it's actually incredibly simple.  This test, however, was not quite as easy to pass.

The Bechdel Test - Films and TV Shows that Pass

Rather than turn this post into a listing of art that passes the Bechdel Test, I want to highlight a couple that pass with flying colors.  The film Matilda was released in 1996 and is based from the Roald Dahl book of the same name.  If follows a young girl who, unlike the rest of her family, has a passion for books and knowledge.  She battles her overbearing and chauvinistic father and despicable principal--all with the power of her mind.  Okay, so she has magical powers, but those powers originate in her mind, right?  Hocus pocus aside, this film teaches young children that their dreams, aspirations, and intelligence matter much more than a pretty face ever will.

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Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is a television show which goes above and beyond to satisfy the Bechdel Test.  SVU follows five New York City detectives who work to solve cases which are sexually explicit.  It is important to not that not every single episode of this show pass the Bechdel Test.  Given that the show predominantly centers around rape, men tend to be involved in 90 percent + of conversations.  However, the lady detectives on SVU are the farthest from weak women that I can think of.  There was a recent episode in which Detective Amanda Rollins' sister betrayed her in the worst ways imaginable, and Detective Rollins broke down.  Yes, she had an emotional breakdown, but she also gathered enough strength to hold her sister accountable.  The women on this show are not perfect, nor are they portrayed as superheroes compared to their male counterparts, but they are genuine.  They are real.  They aren't simply women who fight crime, rather they are people who fight crime, and just happen to have a vagina.

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The Bechdel Test - A Good Starting Point

The Bechdel Test is generally a fantastic tool to determine if a film or television show are worth watching, but it isn't a comprehensive dictator of the feminism present (or absent).  The point of the Bechdel Test shouldn't center around passing, but rather about demanding dimensional characters.  The old adage is that art imitates life, and if this is the case, media has a lot of catching up.  Men and women alike are not measured by the words they mutter about the other, but by the people they are.  I'm not looking to watch stereotypes about my gender or about my boyfriend's gender.  I am looking for writers, producers, directors, etc. to create multi-faceted people who just happen to be either male or female.  A strong character isn't created by gender.  A strong character is created by flaws and strengths.  If we are the inspiration, then I think we deserve to be portrayed accurately.

The Bechdel Test - Further Reading

If you want to learn more about the Bechdel Test and its implications in modern media, I encourage you to check out the following links.

Bechdel Movie Test
Bechdel and Me
Bechdel Test (Wikipedia)