A.

I love to think about the Bechdel Test in real life.

For those who don’t know, the test asks this question, of movies/TV/other art: Do two women characters have at least one conversation that is not about a man?

It’s a low bar, right? I just watched “The Haunting of Hill House” series on Netflix and thought, wow, this passes with flying colors. So many women talking about ghosts … who are also women.

I’ve heard that the “Real Housewives” franchise is great at passing the test, because it’s so many women talking to each other about starting businesses or … whatever else they do.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has a reverse Bechdel situation. There are men on that show, but when they get together in scenes, they’re almost always talking about Buffy. Every man on the series is orienting themselves around a woman and her friends, and those women are often talking about … magic.

To be fair, it’s not bad to fail the test. Some of my favorite movies – and real life conversations – are about men. I love many men! They are worthy of my concern and conversation.

The test is just a good reminder that it can become overwhelming sometimes. In your case, in real life, you’d like to talk about some other things.

(Also, I suspect that if you were sitting in a room women who wanted to date women, and all they were doing was talking about women, you’d be just as annoyed.)

You have a few options. The first is to lead by example. Simply bring up new topics, like, “Hey, I really want to take a road trip this summer. Where should I go?” Or, “Somebody read a book with me. I want a mini friend-group book club.” (Those are just examples of conversation starters. Your real ideas will be better.) The second option is to tell the group that this is bugging you, and ask if they can try some new topics (I prefer Option 1, for the record).

The third option is to find some new friends. Maybe your closest pals are really into guys right now. Maybe they’re having the time of their lives talking about them. You can keep those wonderful friends, by the way, but find some more – or reach out to people you haven’t seen in a while. Mixing it up is good for the soul. Option 3 can happen no matter what.

– Meredith

Readers? I know we all hit a wall with certain conversations. Maybe talking about kids. Or, depending on our age, health issues. Or weddings. How do we snap friends out of the same topics? Should we?