Alison Bechdel, the creator of the Bechdel Test for gender bias in works of fiction, has been writing for and about the LGBT community since 1983 when she began producing and self-syndicating Dykes to Watch Out For, a comic chronicling the lives, romances, and political involvement of a group of lesbians in the United States. She produced her popular strip for 25 years before ending its run in 2008. She also has published two graphic memoirs: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic in 2006 and Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama in 2012, both of which met critical acclaim. Among her towering achievements, Bechdel has been honored with a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012, a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2014 and a Tony Award for the musical adaptation of Fun Home.
