Alison Bechdel
A cartoonist who turned her own family's secrets into a Pulitzer-finalist graphic memoir, and gave the world a simple test for gender bias in film.
Born 1960 (age 66)·American cartoonist·Birthday: September 10·Baby Boomers
Biography
Alison Bechdel spent decades mapping the intimate terrain of queer life long before it entered the mainstream. Her comic strip 'Dykes to Watch Out For,' which ran from 1983 to 2008, was a witty, serialized chronicle of a community, offering both representation and sharp political commentary. Then, in 2006, she pivoted inward with 'Fun Home,' a meticulously drawn graphic memoir that explored her relationship with her closeted father and her own coming out. The book’s profound literary depth and visual sophistication shattered expectations for the medium, becoming a bestseller and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Its success on Broadway as a Tony-winning musical cemented her work's cultural impact. Beyond her own stories, her name is attached to the 'Bechdel Test,' a concept from a 1985 strip that asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man—a disarmingly simple metric that has become a global shorthand for analyzing gender representation.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Alison was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alison Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Alison's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 40
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 50
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 60
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 66 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Her graphic memoir 'Fun Home' was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical in 2015.
- Awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, often called the 'Genius Grant,' in 2014 for her contributions to cartooning and memoir.
- Created the long-running comic strip 'Dykes to Watch Out For,' which provided unprecedented visibility for lesbian life over its 25-year run.
- Originated the concept that became known as the Bechdel Test in a 1985 strip titled 'The Rule.'
Did You Know?
She keeps a detailed daily diary, a practice she has maintained since childhood.
The musical adaptation of 'Fun Home' was the first Broadway musical with a lesbian protagonist.
She was the first female cartoonist to receive the MacArthur Fellowship.
Her father was a high school English teacher and funeral home director, the 'fun home' of the title.
““I had to become my own hero.””
