The Bechdel, Russo, and Race Test: Oh My Ghostess – Season 1, Episode 12

On Oh My Ghostess, episode 12, Bong-Sun prepared a dish for the restaurant and told Sun-Woo that she was not he was in love with, and Soon-Ae realized that Sung-Jae wanted to kill Bong-Sun.

The Bechdel, Russo, and Race Test

Episode 12 passed the Bechdel and race test but did not pass the Russo test.

Women talked to each other a couple of times in episode 12, and because there were a couple of occasions where the women who were talking to each other had names and they did not mention men in their conversation (e.g., So-Hyeong greeted both Bong-Sun and Eun-Hee and So-Heong and Bong-Sun talked to each other about how envious they were of each other), the episode passed the Bechdel test. Episode 12 also passed the race test, and the episode passed this test because the entire cast was Asian and White people were never mentioned by any of the characters (every conversation thus passed the race test).

In regards to the Russo test, episode 12 did not pass this test, and the episode did not pass this test because there were no LGBTI characters in the episode.

*The Bechdel test entails three requirements:
1. It has to have at least two (named) women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

**The Vito Russo test entails three requirements:
1. The show contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and/or transgender
2. The character must not be solely or predominately defined by her sexual orientation, gender identity and/or as being intersex
3.The character must be tied into the plot in such a way that her removal would have a significant effect

***The race or people of color (POC) test has three requirements:
1. It has two people of color in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a White person

****Just because a show passes the Bechdel, Russo and race test does not mean that it is not sexist, heterosexist, racist and/or cissexist, etc. The Bechdel, Russo and race test is only a bare minimum qualifier for the representation of LGBTI individuals, women and people of color in television. The failure to pass these tests also does not identify whether the central character was a woman, a person of color or a LGBTQI individual and it does not dictate the quality of the show.