Title: Has feminism reached women in sports? Subjectification of women in cinema analysed through the Bechdel test (2019-2022)

Authors: Apoorva Juneja

Addresses: Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract: Mainstream cinema has been accused of propagating sexist agendas to benefit from its audience propagating the male gaze. This has led to Bollywood's attempt to rectify female narratives. Owing to this shift, this paper deals with the analysis of selected sports films in Bollywood through the feminist lens during 2019 and 2022 to analyse female subjectification. The concept of feminism can be utilised as a tool of female subjectification bringing forth female narratives to the mainstream. This subjectification is analysed through the Bechdel test leading to a critical examination of the female voice in cinema, which is further analysed through a gynocritical lens. The latter provides a future roadmap to utilise cinema as a visual lingua franca for female-centric narratives. This paper is, therefore, an attempt to provide a closer lens to women's sports-centric female narratives and represent the female as a subject outside the oppressive and objectified male gaze.

Keywords: Bechdel test; Bollywood; feminism; gynocriticism; male gaze; subjectification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2026.150550

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2026 Vol.13 No.1, pp.44 - 56

Received: 30 Oct 2023
Accepted: 23 Nov 2023
Published online: 17 Dec 2025 *

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