Rebecca Kreinberg

7/19/15
Individual Blog Post
Nachumi

Professor

Female Involvement in the World of Comedy

As this course continues and various different areas of
comedy are being explored, I cant help but notice the lack
of female involvement. The videos we have watched and the
articles we have read are largely composed of male
comedians and are yet to show the participation of
any females. This led me to researching whether
this idea is present in the comedy sphere at large,
or whether the pieces we have been given to view
in this course just happen to focus on men. Through
my investigation, it became clear that females are less
connected to the field of comedy and there are in fact fewer
female comedians than there are male comedians. In 2010,
Channel 4 in the UK ran a poll asking viewers to vote for the
100 greatest stand-ups of all time. The results from this
showed that only 6 of these comedians were women, leaving
the other 94 as males1. There have also been studies about
the roasters at various comedy clubs in New York, which
have shown that the ratio of men to women who perform is
roughly 8 to 22. These however, are not the only data
produced that portrays how males dominate the field of
comedy. The obvious question therefore is: Why are there
fewer female comedians than there are male?
Now of course we all know of the famous female
comedians

such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Joan Rivers, and much more,
but compared to males, they are clearly outnumbered. There
is a common belief that the reason as to why there are so
few female comedians is quite simple: Women are just not
funny1. I however would like to suggest otherwise. I believe
that the reason for fewer female comedians than male
comedians is not about the ability to produce humor. There
are numerous performances done by females that evoke
humor throughout the audience so it cant be that there are
fewer females in the comedy world because of their lack of
ability to produce humor.
It is not that men are funnier than women are, rather I
believe the reason why there are more male comedians than
there are females, is due to the specific gender roles and
characteristics placed upon by society.
To begin, a known sociology professor Peter Nardi,
discusses parallels between the masculine world of magic
and comedy. He writes how the field of stand-up comedy has
become an entertainment field thatdemands an
aggressive, powerful role, involving one-upping people. In
addition, he presents various studies that have shown how
males are socialized by using their speech to declare their
dominance by collecting and maintaining an audience 3.
Throughout history, males are known to be constantly
seeking power and as shown by Peter Nardi, the way in
which they do so is through their speech. Females on the
other hand, are taught to work for peaceful and friendly

relationships and are discouraged

from seeking attention from others
since that would create an imbalance
of power between them and their
audience. This can therefore help
explain the unequal participation of males and females in
the comedy world.
Taking this idea one step
further, I think it is also notable
that the social statuses between
men and women add to this
disproportionate balance. From
the beginning of time, women have
always held lower statuses than men.
Although there has been a great
amount of progression, there is still a difference in stature of
men and women. There are theories that express how those
with a higher social status are more likely to joke than those
of a lower social status3. Since men hold higher statuses
than women do, not only are they more prone to producing
jokes, but they also have the ability to influence the
audience. The fact that women have lower statuses than
males not only means that they are less likely to make jokes,
but they are also less encouraged to do so. When females
attempt stand-up they are taking part in a courageous act
since they are likely to experience opposition by those
holding higher authority and higher statuses then them.
Although there are less females in the comedy world
than there are males, the ability of a women to produce and
instill humor in her audience is not only possible, but is
commonly achieved. The belief that Women are just not
funny is false and can be seen through various clips and
episodes of female comedians. Joan Rivers, for example was
an extremely well-known and acknowledged female
comedian who was considered to be hilarious for all her
works including her stand-ups, interviews and talk shows.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are also female comedians who
are famous for their SNL skits and impeccable

impersonations through use of parody and sarcasm. These

are just a few of the accomplished female comedians, but
are proof that just because there are fewer female
comedians then there are males, does not mean their
performances are any less humorous. Gender may play a
role in terms of quantity, but it is definitely not a factor in
terms of quality.
1- http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/mar/20/female-standupcomedy-void
2- http://www.denverpost.com/ci_17586497
3-

http://cratesandribbons.com/2012/11/18/women-arent-funnygender-and-stand-up-comedy/