The humorless sex
The idea that women are not funny has been perpetuated since the time women entered the business of being funny. But whether the contention is that women as a gender aren’t funny or that female comics aren’t funny has never been substantively resolved.
Jerry Lewis, acclaimed comedian, when asked at the 1998 Aspen's US Comedy Arts Festival which women comics he admired, he answered, "I don't like any female comedians. A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me, but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."
Adam Corolla, former co-host of The Man Show, in his interview to the New York Post said, “The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks. When it comes to comedy, of course there’s Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, Kathy Griffin — super-funny chicks. But if you’re playing the odds? No.”
The most contentious of such proclamations was Christopher Hitchens’ article in the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair entitled "Why Women Aren't Funny"; his arguments range from evolutionary mechanisms:
"Why are men, taken on average and as a whole, funnier than women? Well, for one thing, they had damn well better be. The chief task in life that a man has to perform is that of impressing the opposite sex...Women have no corresponding need to appeal to men in this way. They already appeal to men, if you catch my drift. "
To the statistical analysis of comediennes and the clichéd remarks on their appearance and attractiveness:
"In any case, my argument doesn't say that there are no decent women comedians. There are more terrible female comedians than there are terrible male comedians, but there are some impressive ladies out there. Most of them, though, when you come to review the situation, are hefty or dykey or Jewish, or some combo of the three."
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The admirable Christopher Hitchens
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However unfortunate such opinions may be, their existence is compounded by ‘empirical studies’ that claim differential understanding of humor in the sexes. Hitchens, in fact, cleverly uses such a study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine where they showed 10 men and 10 women 70 black and white cartoons and asked them to rate the cartoons on a funniness scale. According to the findings of the study, women appear to have less expectation of a reward, and hence are more pleased when they get to joke’s punch line i.e., the reward. Hitchens’ twists these findings and postulates a reverse argument: “Slower to get it, more pleased when they do, and swift to locate the unfunny—for this we need the Stanford University School of Medicine? And remember, this is women when confronted with humor. Is it any wonder that they are backward in generating it?”
Discrimination against female comedy writers and comediennes has transcended generations - from Roseanne Barr in the 80s, writer of the of the first female-created sitcom ‘Roseanne’ (1988-97), who was denied credit as the show’s creator; instead, the credits ran ‘created by Matt Williams’; to Joan Rivers, now known for her acerbic and sardonic critique of celebrity fashion of E!’s Fashion Police, is quoted to have said, “ Men find funny women threatening. They ask me, ‘Are you going to be funny in bed?’”; And now stand up comic Andrea Grimes who complains “One of the most frustrating parts about being a woman in stand-up comedy is hearing this from a host before you walk on stage: ‘And now, a female comic!’”
Tina Fey and her Bossypants
‘Bossypants’ is the title of Tina Fey’s much-acclaimed autobiographical memoir. Published in 2011, it explores Tina Fey’s journey from a small town in Pennsylvania to the Second City Theatre in Chicago; from Mean Girls to SNL; from Sarah Palin to Liz Lemon- all with a dash of sarcasm, humor and advice. She voices her opinions on beauty, health, ageism, sexism and every other ism that exists with a facetious mockery that has come to be known as Tina Fey’s kind of funny.
What hits the reader first is the cover: in all it’s repugnant resplendence. “I hope that’s not really not the cover. That’s really going to hurt sales” Don Fey, father of Tina Fey” reads the advanced praise for Bossypants in the back cover. There’s Tina Fey- big eyes, clear skin, sharp smile- and there’s the torso and hands of an obese, hairy man. And with that self-deprecating humor, she makes a point- that she is a woman in man’s world. Tina Fey is used to be being ‘boss’ in an industry that is dominated by men: she was the first female head writer at SNL and is now the creator and lead actress of the Emmy Award winning show ’30 Rock’. The title, Bossypants, reflects the same sentiment:
“Why is this book called Bossypants? One, because the name Two and a Half Men was already taken. And two, because ever since I became an executive producer of 30 Rock, people have asked me,” Is it hard for you, being the boss?” and “Is it uncomfortable for you to be the person in charge?” You know, in that same way they say, “Gosh, Mr. Trump, is it awkward for you to be the boss of all these people?” I can’t answer for Mr. Trump, but in my case it is not.”
Tina Fey takes a decisive stand on the representation of women in comedy. On Christopher Hitchens and Jerry Lewis she says: “My hat goes off to them. It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. I don’t like Chinese food, but I don’t write articles trying to prove it doesn’t exist.”
That attitude developed perhaps, through a series of experiences in the comedy industry. While she did encounter the sexism (“The Second
City was the only one where I experienced institutionalized gender nonsense. For example, a director of one of the main companies once justified cutting a scene by saying, “The audience doesn’t want to see a scene between two women”.”) Tina Fey realized that being proactive was the only solution to counter such sexist views, and that the ‘institutionalized gender nonsense’ was a consequence of a simple lack of understanding on part of the men in the industry. Her response here is not self-effacing; she aims to make comedy out of female vulnerability, or to twist it around, to invert it, to give it a provocative edge. For example, the Sarah Palin sketch that made Tina Fey a household name was a direct response to the sexism targeted towards Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Presidential Elections. "You all watched a sketch show about feminism and you didn't even realise it because of all the jokes. It's like when Jessica Seinfeld puts spinach in kids' brownies. Suckers!"
Fey goes on to narrate an incident between Amy Poehler and Jimmy Fallon to elucidate her approach to the debate on women in comedy and the kind of humor expected from the- Poehler was messing around in the writers' room, doing something "dirty, loud and 'unladylike'" when the then star of the show, Jimmy Fallon, told her to stop it. "I don't like it," he said.
"Amy dropped what she was doing, went black in the eyes for a second, and wheeled around on him: 'I don't fucking care if you like it.'" Fey tells the story, she says, because "I think of this whenever someone says to me, 'Jerry Lewis says women aren't funny'. Or 'Christopher Hitchens says women aren't funny?'... Do you have anything to say to that? Yes. We don't fucking care if you like it."
She highlights the gendered hypocrisy towards aging comedians while debating if she should have another child. “Let me clarify. I have observed that women, at least in comedy, are labeled “crazy” after a certain age…I’ve known older men in comedy who can barely feed and clean themselves, and they still work. The women, though, they’re all “crazy.”—I have a suspicion that the definition of “crazy” in show business is a woman who keeps talking even after no one wants to fuck her anymore.”
Crude, but succinct, in the end, for Tina Fey, it simply comes down to this: “It seems to me that the fastest remedy for this “Women Are Crazy” situation is for more women to become producers and hire diverse women of various ages.” According to her women must create opportunities for each other rather than waiting for men to give funny women a chance. And this is perhaps where ‘Bridesmaids’ comes in- two women, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo writing a movie that stars women and showcases female comedy in its myriad ways.
Comediennes and their Bridesmaids
Bridesmaid is a 2011 comedy written by Kristen Wiig (from SNL) and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow. (director of Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express among other movies that barely pass the Bechdel test)
The plot revolves around Annie, played by Kristen Wiig, who experiences professional and personal problems, losing both her bakery and her boyfriend in the past two years. When her childhood friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces her engagement, Annie now has further things on her mind as she is appointed maid of honor. Not only does she have to put her life back together, but she also has to compete with Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian’s over-the-top, richer, prettier new ‘best’ friend. The ensemble cast also includes myriad characters that constitute the bridal party. They include Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), a mother of three adolescent sons and Megan (Melissa McCarthy), around whom a major portion of the gags are centered.
What is of interest, however, is not the plotline or the story that the movie follows, but the kind of response it received from diverse audiences and critics alike. Most responses seemed to be focused around the defecation scene in the movie and thus, likened the movie to a female “Hangover”, questioning the need for such a scene: “Frankly, the only time Bridesmaids loses its footing is when it acts like The Hangover in drag. Guys and gross make a better fit. Who needs to see bridesmaids puking up lunch and shitting their pants?” On the other hand, there were views that glorified the scatological and ‘raunchy’ humor that is scattered through the film, which appears to be one of the reasons why the film as considered ‘ground breaking’ for women. “It definitively proves that women are the equal of men in vulgarity, sexual frankness, lust, vulnerability, overdrinking and insecurity.”
The movie was nominated for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards with a particular nod for Melissa McCarthy’s performance; it made more than 200 million dollars worldwide. The audience was 67% female.
The clamoring and mobilization of audiences that occurred on the Internet, and in particular feminist blogs, seemed to have contributed to the film’s success. Several reviews and blogs promoted the idea that watching the movie was a ‘social responsibility’, messages such as “I encourage each and every one of you to see ‘Bridesmaids’ this weekend, not just because it’s hilarious, but because we MUST show Hollywood that women DO want movies that are not vapid romcoms or something about shopping … A lot is riding on this movie. So please bring your girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, and neighbors out in droves. And please, if you feel moved, encourage others to do so, as well” and “Seriously, we have to see this movie this weekend. If you are a woman, like women, or simply don’t hate them … if we don’t go, they won’t build them anymore” had become commonplace in the weeks prior to the release of the movie. Such movements were grounded in the belief that Hollywood needs to know what women want; they were grounded in a fear that if ‘Bridesmaids’ were to fail at the box office then top (male) producers would never invest the millions of dollars on women centric comedies- as though the future of women in comedy rested on the success of Bridesmaids.
What is troubling here is that regardless of the content or quality of this particularly movie, what was considered pertinent by Hollywood, the media and female moviemakers and performers was how much money the movie made.
The ability to be funny or create humor is often associated with intelligence and the ability to attract sexual partners. So when Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist, decided to study the relationship between these variables in collaboration with Gil Greengross, he purported to have found that men were funnier than women, that people who were funny were likely to be more intelligent and also had more sexual partners. There are obvious gaps in such research (how does one assess what is funny?) but their existence highlights a problem- there is a need, albeit, a strong desire to propound the view that women are not funny, or that they don’t need to be funny because they’re already blessed with the good looks to attract a mate.
Women who are in the business of comedy are the first to experience the backlash of such opinions that are perpetuated through popular culture. What emerges therefore is a kind of politics attached to women in comedy- it is no doubt an inadvertent truth when Christopher Hitchens says, “Men want women as an audience, not as rivals.”
The conundrum here is two fold.
First, is that comediennes continue to conform to the stereotypical portrayals associated with them -“Most of them (female comedians), though, when you come to review the situation, are hefty or dykey or Jewish, or some combo of the three." Melissa McCarthy’s character in Bridesmaid is a prime example. Although it was hailed as revolutionary and trailblazing, it is undoubtedly regressive- almost every joke was designed to rest on her presumed hideousness, and her ribald but unmistakably "hefty" sexuality was grounded primarily in her body type and an aversion to makeup. ("I never bloat," she says at a bridesmaids' lunch, which is apparently funny because she is big.)
On the other hand, comediennes are no longer required to just be funny, but to be pretty, even sexy; to get a laugh they have to be attractive in a way that appeals to men. Tina Fey exemplifies this situation- she had to lose 30 lbs before she appeared as a regular feature on the Weekend Update on SNL; her image on 30 Rock is also based on the ‘sexy librarian’ ideal with what has become to be known as ‘Tina Fey glasses’.
Second, and the more perturbing one, is found in the reasons why men think women aren’t funny. At one end of this spectrum is the idea that funny women only talk about relationships, vaginas, tampons, emotions, family problems, personal problems; that funny women are too polite to be funny; and that funny women lack confidence. On the other end is the belief funny women are aggressive; women being crude was unattractive and that men didn’t like seeing women in a crass role. Thus, men seem to dislike women acting too much like men, but at the same time, in order to be funny, women need to act like men. Women are placed in a double bind: when they act like men, it’s gross, but when they act like women, they’re not funny. This dichotomy was also observed in the some of the more critical reviews that Bridesmaids received. On one hand, the movie was criticized for being too raunchy and too explicit; in particular, the food poisoning scene got a lot of flak (Guys and gross make a better fit. Who needs to see bridesmaids puking up lunch and shitting their pants?”) While on the other hand, because the movie was centered on a wedding and dealt with ‘personal problems’ of women, it was instantly deemed as a chick flick. To try and counter this effect, publicists used producer Judd Apatow’s street-cred as the director of male centric comedies such as Knocked Up, 40 year old Virgin and Superbad to entice male audiences. Ironically, Apatow and Feig were then lauded as ‘saviors’ of female comedies.
On top of all this, comediennes are also expected to be crusaders of the feminist movement and their most critical audience are perhaps the feminists themselves. Tina Fey’s show ’30 Rock’ was criticized by feminists for several reasons- Liz Lemon’s portrayal of single life, her relationship with food and body image issues etc.- in essence, she was a bad feminist. But in the same breath, it was also praised for tackling feminist issues with aplomb. There was a similar appraisal of ‘Bridesmaids’ by some feminists- "It's about getting married. Women, desperate to get married. What kind of a feminist are you?" They were also perhaps the staunchest supporters of ‘Bridesmaids’ – either way, the expectations of feminists from female comics and comedy writers do feature as an important factor for women in comedy and how they are judged by other women.
In conclusion, both ‘Bossypants’ and ‘Bridesmaids’ provide perspectives of looking at women in comedy and partake in the other’s philosophies. Tina Fey’s defiant “I don’t fucking care if you like it” is resonated by ‘Bridesmaids’ audacity to portray funny women in unconventional ways. And although both, the book and the movie have their share of controversies, they highlight issues that comediennes face, and more importantly, ways to overcome them. To quote Matthew Perry, who spoke during the Comedy Awards 2012 on women in comedy in the aftermath of ‘Bridesmaids’ - "This year we saw many hilarious performances by women - as well as many idiotic articles from men about how women suddenly became funny," Perry said. "This wasn't the year women finally became funny, this was the year men finally pulled their heads out of their asses."
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