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The Big Question: Are comediennes as funny as their male counterparts?
9 Comments. Yes
Never one to mince words , the late, great Christopher Hitchens announced in 2007 that women are “not funny”, never were, and never will be. It was his opinion that the fairer sex are evolutionary programmed to be receptive to humour in men, but generally lack such facilities themselves. There is at least some truth to this. If you happen to be a gatherer type, slightly pallid, and perhaps wanting in a few inches here and there, you’ve at least got to be able to make them laugh. And women, more often the object of advances, can’t be said to have men rolling-in-the-aisles. Now, this doesn’t preclude funny women entirely. It just makes them a bonus instead of a requirement.
I don’t have the wherewithal to affirm or deny Hitchens’ claim. But to state that “women don’t have to be funny” certainly doesn’t negate the fact that many female comedians are incredibly funny. And they’re giving their male counterparts a run for their money.
I won’t bore you with instances, but Tina Fey’s impersonation of Sarah Palin, then-vice-presidential candidate, was not only an excellent poke at the former Governor’s questionable intellect but was also alleged to have swayed voters from crossing ‘Republican’ on their ballot box.
Who did you say wasn’t keeping up?
Those real, working comediennes out there warrant better treatment than to be undercut by foolish remarks that their comedy is for the coterie and not for the masses.
Not all of us are gifted with a good sense of humour. But it seems this latest offence in the age-old war of the sexes is a particularly dispiriting one. Men can be funny. So can women. Now, as a species, let’s move the f*ck on?
No
No. I’m sorry but, categorically, ultimately and eternally; no.
Actually I’m not sorry, because it’s their fault entirely. I don’t like comediennes for the same reason that I don’t like Omid Djalili, Stephen K. Amos and missionary position. They’re dull, repetitive and upsettingly safe. Comediennes seem to take one aspect of their personality, race or background and run with it. Then jog with it for a while before sort of doing a few keepy-ups with it and ending up just strolling along, lazily bouncing it against a wall. They squeeze the single joke they ever wrote for everything it’s worth, flogging the dead horse ad nauseum. If you’re Omid Djallili, it’s the fact you’re an Iranian with a British accent, living in a predominantly white, middle-class and conservative country. K. Amos works on a similar proviso, replacing Iranian with ‘Nigerian’ and occasionally ‘gay’.
If you’re a woman, well, it’s the fact that you are a woman (unless of course we are referring to Shappi Khorsandi who is both a woman and Iranian. Two for the price of one!). Female comedy is for some reason dominated by middle-aged, overweight housewives, writing comedy for middle-aged, overweight housewives about middle-aged, overweight housewives. They tell jokes about hoovers, husbands who fart in bed and, as far as I can tell, that might be it. There’s none of the ingenuity and creativity prevalent in the comedy of their male peers. You’d never see a female comedian weigh up the pros and cons of being raised in a forest by wolves in the style of Eddie Izzard, or, like Stewart Lee, spend a good five minutes talking about why the word ‘crisps’ annoys them. Truth is comediennes don’t need to be interesting. They’ve got a niche and, for the most part, they’re more than happy to stay within its bland, uninspired parameters. Mainstream female comedy will have to break free of these self-imposed shackles before it’ll ever hold a candle to the originality and verve seen in the male arena.
Izzy Scrimshire & Alex Mawby
are women as good at driving as men?arguably not.could a woman win the f1?definitly yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1oXIZVLthw&feature=related
Actually women are better at driving than men; hence why up until recently insurance was cheaper for women than men because you guys get into more accidents.
Depends on whether you consider parking to be a part of ‘driving’, I guess.
I am a woman and I am hilarious.
What’s really funny though is that this debate was actually considered to have any worth. You see, I have to laugh to keep from crying.
This is ridiculous. Why do you think those parameters that constrain female comediennes exist in the first place? BECAUSE OF SEXISM – these are not self-imposed shackles. Your repeated use of the phrase ‘middle-aged overweight housewives is drenched in ignorance and illustrates just how unaware you are of your self hypocrisy.
Hi Megan, thanks for your feedback. I’d just like to point out that the parameters I am discussing in my article are those set by the comedians themselves when writing their material. It is their choice as to what they discuss,and I find that they generally tend to stick to a limited set of subjects. As this is their own free choice, I believe it is unfair that they do so ‘BECAUSE OF SEXISM’ as you claimed; many known female comedians, such as Josie Long, choose to draw from a wide range of subject matter, thus proving that there is no limit to what can be discussed outside of the artists discretion. Also, regarding your comments on the ‘middle-aged overweight housewives’ section, I was wondering if you could clarify how this demonstrates my ‘self hypocrisy’, are you implying that all I ever do is tell jokes about housewives? Thanks. Alex
you would never hear a white, male comedian saying for example haha how hilarious is it that I am exceptionally privileged, I am not subjected to discrimination because of my race , gender or sexuality, we as a group have not had to endure centuries of struggle in order to be able to live the lives other people have the opportunity to live. I may be fat, I may be middle aged, I may engage in household chores but those things will never define me as a comedy act because I am male – so there’s no need to talk about the fact that I do housework, because it has never been something that has been forced upon me, Its ok if I am slightly overweight because I am not pressured by society to look perfect, and I am middle aged but that doesn’t matter because society does not consider me to be redundant once I reach an age at which I may no longer be sexually attractive – men don’t joke about things like that, or find them funny because they can’t relate to the depressing circumstances upon which those jokes were based. My point is that as long as women are still discriminated against (and they are by the way, sexism is still rife) then the ‘self-imposed’ shackles will remain because there is a market for making light out of depressing situations, and good for them I say, milk it for all it’s worth. And you are a hypocrite because you didn’t refer to these women as ‘overweight middle aged comediennes’ but ‘overweight middle aged housewives’, and you tar their audience with the same brush – so ‘it’s their fault entirely’ is not exactly true is it, it’s because people like you will only ever see women like that as fat middle aged housewives and nothing but. The hundreds of aspiring female comedians will never have the same opportunity to get up and talk about something different and refreshing because they won’t be given the same chance as they are constantly faced with the sexist preconception that women aren’t as funny as men.
Megan – 1
Alex- 0