Sexy Lamp Test

The Sexy Lamp Test is a thought experiment that is designed to gauge how relevant a female character is to the plot of a work, in a bid to highlight poor representation and flawed characterisation of women in media.
As described by Headless (characterandwritinghelp.tumblr.com):
The test was established by Kelly Sue DeConnick and first achieved wide notice after she mentioned it during an Emerald City Comic Con panel titled "From Victim to Hero".Writing Women – The Sexy Lamp Test, Endless Realms. Posted March 3, 2013. Accessed February 2, 2016. The test specifically referenced and built upon the Bechdel Test, another thought experiment that establishes a bare minimum for how women are portrayed in various media. 
In its original wording:
The "sexy lamp" in question is a prop from the movie A Christmas Story (1983). The lamp consists of a lampshade over a fake leg, dressed in a fishnet stocking.
thumb|the "sexy lamp" from A Christmas Story (1983)
DeConnick's comments were covered in numerous media articles and succeeded in sparking off a discussion about female characterisation and objectification, as well as gender and fanservice, in media.
==Context==
The Sexy Lamp Test addresses the ubiquitous and much-despised Strong Female Character trope, in which a female character is "strong" (however this is defined) on paper yet completely lacks agency or relevance to the plot.We’re losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome by Tasha Robinson. Posted June 16, 2014. Accessed February 2, 2016. (Note that Robinson says "floor lamp" instead of "sexy lamp" and does not credit DeConnick for the concept.)
DeConnick works in the US comics industry, which is home to a wide variety of sexist behavior,"Writers need to engage their audience with a narrative that includes female characters who are more than mere plot devices; they need to play an integral role in the story where their absence would certainly impair, if not outright halt the progression of the story." The Bechdel Test and a Sexy Lamp:Detecting Gender Bias and Stereotypes in Mainstream Comics by Forrest Helvie. Posted November 21, 2013. Accessed February 2, 2016. including the Fake Geek Girls incident, cosplay-related and other convention harassment,San Diego police seek information in assault on cosplayer — UPDATED by Heidi MacDonald. Posted August 29, 2014. Accessed February 2, 2016. and covers so awful they inspired The Hawkeye Initiative. This was during a period of pressure placed on Marvel to make a Black Widow movie as part of the hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU); at the time, it was difficult to even find Black Widow merchandise in stores, despite an overwhelming amount of merchandise for the male Avengers.butnotblackwidow.tumblr.com, a Tumblr devoted entirely to the absence of Black Widow merchandise. Accessed February 2, 2016. Amidst these events, DeConnick wrote the latest Captain Marvel series, starring Carol Danvers, which was one of the few female-led Marvel comics books at the time.Kelly Sue Deconnick on the Evolution of Carol Danvers to Captain Marvel (Interview), Comics Alliance, by Laura Hudson. Posted March 19, 2012. Accessed February 2, 2016. The comic achieved a large following among female fans, to the point where a Carol Danvers movie was added to the MCU lineup.
In a 2012 interview with Laura Hudson of Comics Alliance, DeConnick said:
The initial "maybe you need another draft" was replaced in later statements by variations on "you're a hack".
==Impact==
Interest in the test from comics and fandom circles grew after the ECCC panel. The test was mentioned in several articles in media-related publications.Kelly Sue DeConnick Talks Captain Marvel, Pretty Deadly, and the Sexy Lamp Test by Joshua Yehl. Posted June 20, 2013. Accessed February 2, 2016. DeConnick went on to repeat her statements and elaborate on them during later conventions.I Don’t Know About You, But I Prefer My Strong Female Characters To Pass The 'Sexy Lamp' Test, video of Kelly Sue DeConnick explaining the Sexy Lamp Test at Wondercon. Posted July 24, 2014. Accessed February 2, 2016.
Various fans and critics also began discussing how the test could be applied to media.Films That Totally Fail The Sexy Lamp Test by Jenni Berrett. Posted August 2, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2016.“Sexy Lamp Test” more accurate evaluation of female characterization by Haley Mitchell. Posted June 12, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2016. One fan explained how the test could shed light on the differences in fanservice portrayals by gender:
==Sexy Lamp with a Post-It Stuck On==
In a discussion about the Sexy Lamp Test vs. the Bechdel Test, trailofdesire proposed a conundrum:
In response, shitifindon suggested:
The concept of a post-it note quickly caught on, and this has become a common way of explaining how women who act as information dumps in storylines are still often objects who don't have independent agency and plot relevance beyond the information they provide to a male character."Lucrezia Borgia is a sexy lamp with a post-it note. Both Pietro and Cesare want the same lamp, she gets kidnapped at one point because the lamp has a key tied round it’s neck, and then she has a post-it note of where the apple of eden is." Feminist Points Rundown of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood by gaymingtrash. Posting date unknown. Accessed November 2, 2017."Moneypenny was a sexy lamp with a post-it-note as usual. The grieving widow was a sexy lamp with a post-it-note and a random shag. (That sounds callous but he really did just get information out of her, have sex and leave. She even asked, if he was leaving his number. He practically laughed and said no. He’s not even going to bother protecting her himself and he just dumped.) And Miss Swan was just narrowly saved from being a sexy lamp with a post-it-note by the scene where they allowed her to shoot / wound Mr.Hinx and potentially save James’ life… although she was not allowed to kill him." James Bond: Spectre *Spoilers* by faitharmstrong. Posted December 5, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2016.
==Relation to Other Tests==
The Russ Test, coined by Leslie Fish in 1980 as a reference to a quote by Joanna Russ, is a per-courser to these tests. 
The Sexy Lamp Test is often compared to both the Bechdel Test and the Mako Mori Test.An analysis of 1,500 films resulted in 1 disturbing conclusion. Curated by Parker Molloy. Posted March 19, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2016.
===Bechdel Test===
The Bechdel and Sexy Lamp tests measure different elements of female representation - the first measures presence of women and the possibility of relationships between them that don't center on men, while the Sexy Lamp test measures an individual woman's impact on a work.Bechdel vs. the sexy lamp by sweaterkittens. Posted c. April 2014. Accessed February 2, 2016. Both are extremely low bars that should be easy to walk over, but some feminists have argued that the Sexy Lamp test should raise more red flags because it shows that a woman in the work has been completely objectified.
Yet other feminists find it more alarming that a simple conversation between two women fails to appear in so many media, since this doesn't reflect real life by objective measures. In discussing how The Avengers (2012) passes the Sexy Lamp test but not the Bechdel Test, scifigrl47 explained:
===Mako Mori Test===
The Mako Mori Test measures similar elements to the Sexy Lamp test (an individual woman's relevance to the plot of a work). The Mako Mori test is somewhat more rigorous, requiring a woman not simply to contribute to the plot but to have her own character arc that doesn't exist to support a man's.
===Conclusions===
Many fans have concluded that no single test can measure the quality of female representation in a work; tests should be used together as part of an overall assessment of media in general and a specific work.The Media Tests and a proposal (or “Women in Fiction” and Crystal Gems Test) by locuas642. Posted August 26, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2016.
Most tests call attention to significant problems of portrayal in the media they're designed around, generally with the goal being to encourage creators to think about their decisions in their future works."I’ve long felt that the Bechdel Test is a better measure of media as a whole than it is of any one specific work. Basically, if one movie doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, it doesn’t necessarily mean the movie’s sexist. If ninety percent of movies don’t pass the Bechdel Test, we have a serious representation problem on our hands."What are you doing here?: Bechdel vs. the sexy lamp by beatriceeagle. Posted August 17, 2013. Accessed February 2, 2016.
==Further Reading/Meta==
* The Bechdel Test and a Sexy Lamp: Detecting Gender Bias and Stereotypes in Mainstream Comics by Forrest Helvie, November 21, 2013
==References==
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