Dykes to Watch Out For – Alison Bechdel’s Groundbreaking Comic Strip

Dykes to Watch Out For (DTWOF) is a long-running comic strip by American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, first published in 1983 and continuing sporadically until 2008, with a few post-hiatus entries released later. It became one of the most important and influential queer comic strips in American pop culture, chronicling the personal, romantic, and political lives of a diverse cast of primarily lesbian characters. The strip was widely distributed through alternative weeklies, feminist magazines, LGBTQ+ newspapers, and eventually online platforms, becoming a beloved and indispensable work in queer literature. DTWOF played a key role in normalizing lesbian identities and relationships in media during a time of sparse and often stereotypical representation.

Infobox: Dykes to Watch Out For

Overview and Cultural Impact

DTWOF offered readers a rare, authentic glimpse into the intimate and political lives of lesbians navigating adulthood, relationships, activism, and societal change. Bechdel once described the strip as “half op-ed column and half endless, serialized Victorian novel.” Through this hybrid style, DTWOF delivered emotionally rich, politically conscious, and narratively engaging content. It skillfully fused serialized storytelling with topical commentary, creating a comic that not only entertained but also educated and advocated.

Each strip reflected the social and political landscape of its time, covering a range of topics such as gay marriage, reproductive rights, the AIDS crisis, the Iraq War, climate change, gentrification, class politics, and the rise of consumer culture. Bechdel approached these issues through the lives of her characters, grounding abstract politics in the day-to-day experiences of relatable, imperfect individuals.

In 1985, DTWOF introduced what would later be recognized as the Bechdel Test—a simple but profound method for evaluating gender bias in media. Initially presented as a humorous aside in a strip, the test gained prominence decades later and is now a widely used cultural critique tool across film, literature, and media studies.

DTWOF became an essential cultural touchstone and has been compared in influence to landmark novels such as Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle and Lisa Alther’s Kinflicks. For generations of queer women, it provided validation, community, and visibility at a time when such portrayals were exceedingly rare.

Publication History and Hiatus

The comic began with standalone entries in feminist and LGBTQ+ publications before evolving into a serialized saga featuring recurring characters. The first collected volume was released in 1986 by Firebrand Books. Over time, Bechdel expanded the cast and deepened the interwoven storylines, all while reflecting ongoing cultural and societal shifts.

In 2008, after 25 years of continuous production, Bechdel placed the strip on an indefinite hiatus to focus on her graphic memoir, Are You My Mother? However, DTWOF’s influence persisted. In 2016, following the U.S. presidential election, Bechdel revived the strip briefly with “Pièce de Résistance,” published in Seven Days and on her website. This installment, addressing the political tensions of the moment, went viral and crashed Bechdel’s site due to overwhelming traffic, reaffirming the strip’s continued resonance.

In 2023, DTWOF was adapted into an Audible Original podcast. Scripted by Pulitzer finalist Madeleine George and featuring an all-star queer and feminist voice cast—Carrie Brownstein, Roberta Colindrez, Jenn Colella, Roxane Gay, and Jane Lynch—the series was developed with Bechdel’s approval and brought her beloved characters to a new audience in a dynamic and modern format.

Core Characters and Community Dynamics

DTWOF follows a vibrant and interconnected group of queer friends and their extended community over several decades. The characters age in real time, evolving with the political and cultural transformations around them. Their friendships, romances, careers, and ideological debates paint a richly textured portrait of modern queer life.

• Mo Testa – The emotionally intense, neurotic protagonist. A politically active feminist who works in bookstores and becomes a librarian, Mo is often the voice of anxious reason.
• Lois MacGiver – Bold, unapologetically sexual, and politically provocative, Lois is a drag king and activist whose irreverence often stirs controversy. She is a fixture in the queer nightlife scene.
• Ginger Jordan – An English professor whose career trajectory is marked by frustration and intellectual compromise. Her relationship with Samia, a Muslim chemist in a lavender marriage, adds layers to her personal and professional challenges.
• Sparrow Pidgeon – Evolving from New Age spirituality to militant atheism, Sparrow co-parents a child with Stuart, a straight male ally. Their household represents one of the most unconventional and loving units in the strip.
• Clarice Clifford – A no-nonsense environmental lawyer, Clarice is driven and occasionally emotionally distant. Her relationship with Toni and their son Raffi represents the complexities of queer parenting.
• Toni Ortiz – Clarice’s more emotionally expressive partner. Toni’s storylines explore class, race, and domestic labor. Their commitment and eventual separation reflect modern queer family dynamics.
• Sydney Krukowski – A materialistic, high-achieving Women’s Studies professor who dates Mo. Sydney’s contradictions and compulsive habits often cause friction in her relationships.
• Stuart Goodman – A straight Jewish male who is often playfully dubbed “more lesbian than the lesbians.” His role as a stay-at-home dad and feminist ally is integral to the strip’s commentary on masculinity.
• Jezanna Ramsay – The wise elder and owner of Madwimmin Books, Jezanna represents the second-wave feminist ethos that shaped early queer spaces.
• Harriet – A state human rights investigator, Mo’s ex, and single mother to Isabel. Her presence adds both tension and maturity to Mo’s emotional development.
• Thea – An artist living with multiple sclerosis, who once dated Sydney. Thea brings an underrepresented perspective of disability into the strip.

These characters’ lives intersect through friendships, ex-lovers, parenting arrangements, workplaces, and activist movements, mirroring the diverse interconnectivity of real-life queer communities.

Collected Editions and Notable Works

DTWOF was collected in numerous volumes, many of which included standalone stories or graphic novellas:

• Dykes to Watch Out For (1986)
• More Dykes to Watch Out For (1988)
• New, Improved! Dykes to Watch Out For (1990)
• Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel (1992)
• Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out For (1993)
• Unnatural Dykes to Watch Out For (1995)
• Hot, Throbbing Dykes to Watch Out For (1997)
• Split-Level Dykes to Watch Out For (1998)
• Post-Dykes to Watch Out For (2000)
• Dykes and Sundry Other Carbon-Based Life-Forms to Watch Out For (2003)
• Invasion of the Dykes to Watch Out For (2005)
• The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For (2008) – A comprehensive collection with a reflective introduction by Bechdel, which won the 2009 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction.

Bechdel also published The Indelible Alison Bechdel (1998), featuring rare work, personal notes, and humorous behind-the-scenes insights into the making of the strip.

Literary Allusions, Visual Style, and Thematic Depth

Much like Bechdel’s acclaimed graphic memoir Fun Home, DTWOF is packed with literary allusions and cultural references. Names, book titles, and even the characters’ decor nod to canonical literature, feminist theory, queer philosophy, and pop ephemera. Sydney Krukowski’s name, for example, is a cheeky nod to Tennessee Williams’s Stanley Kowalski, recontextualized through a feminist lens.

Visually, Bechdel’s art style is clean, expressive, and rich with detail. Panels are packed with background information—protest signs, bumper stickers, book titles, and brand parodies all add nuance and humor. Her storytelling techniques—visual metaphors, dream sequences, and silent panels—enrich the strip’s narrative complexity.

Thematically, DTWOF explores not only queer identity and politics but also intersectional issues such as class, disability, race, generational conflict, and economic inequality. It balances satire with sentimentality, offering both critique and celebration of queer culture.

Legacy and Academic Recognition

Dykes to Watch Out For remains one of the most influential queer comics ever created. Beyond its popularity, the strip shaped the narrative and aesthetic strategies of queer storytelling across multiple mediums. Bechdel’s pioneering work inspired countless cartoonists and writers to push the boundaries of representation.

The strip is widely studied in gender studies, media studies, and queer theory programs across the globe. Its role in developing feminist visual culture is frequently cited in academic journals and conferences. By capturing the minutiae of everyday queer life and the broader social tides that shaped it, DTWOF serves as both a historical document and a work of art.

It also helped normalize conversations around same-sex parenting, nontraditional family structures, intergenerational relationships, and political activism. Through its honesty, intelligence, and humor, DTWOF empowered readers and created space for a more inclusive, truthful cultural dialogue.

The enduring appeal of DTWOF lies in its remarkable ability to be timely yet timeless—grounded in its era while speaking to universal themes of love, community, struggle, and transformation. It not only reflected queer life but helped shape it, offering a roadmap of survival, resistance, and joy.

Bechdel’s legacy through DTWOF continues to shine brightly, securing its place as a foundational text in LGBTQ+ cultural history and a guiding light for future generations of queer artists and storytellers.