The Girls Only Thread

[amyzzz]

Maybe she has mean male comedian friends?

[miscorrections]

I understand what she means - when talking to friends, of course you can be a funny lady, but trying to appeal to a wider audience suddenly becomes a much more daunting and much more gender-charged task. Of course, she also moved to LA last year I think, and that can pretty much suck the soul out of anyone. So.

[miscorrections]

God I'm drunk and not putting things clearly. When a woman tries to be a professional comedian, or just professionally funny - she's never a comedian, or a funny writer, or whatever. She's always a woman comedian, a woman comedy writer, blah blah blah. And right now that's a description that's overshadowed by male counterparts - I mean, no one ever says "male comedian". People make period jokes and talk about her looks and what a bitch she is instead. It's like when a woman is a real person on the internet people call her an "ugly bitch" or say "I'd fuck that/wouldn't fuck that" to try to reduce her to some easily owned concept instead of dealing with the prospect of a woman with agency who can articulate and express herself AS A PERSON instead of as just a lady. It's a tangled and ugly culture, even if you don't experience it (and I hope no one does) within your own group of friends.

[ThatGirl]

God I'm drunk and not putting things clearly. When a woman tries to be a professional comedian, or just professionally funny - she's never a comedian, or a funny writer, or whatever. She's always a woman comedian, a woman comedy writer, blah blah blah. And right now that's a description that's overshadowed by male counterparts - I mean, no one ever says "male comedian". People make period jokes and talk about her looks and what a bitch she is instead. It's like when a woman is a real person on the internet people call her an "ugly bitch" or say "I'd fuck that/wouldn't fuck that" to try to reduce her to some easily owned concept instead of dealing with the prospect of a woman with agency who can articulate and express herself AS A PERSON instead of as just a lady. It's a tangled and ugly culture, even if you don't experience it (and I hope no one does) within your own group of friends.

This is part of the reason I left the radio industry. I aspired to be an announcer - being the entertainment - not doing news or weather. But the industry supports an on air dynamic of two guys and a girl - that is the centre of the the jokes. The girl needs to be willing to be the butt of the joke, a lot of the time. I was told I was cute and therefore I could hand out Pepsi from the fun bus but when it came to on air time I had to be a side dish, and not the main dish. Not for me.

[Kyliediscope]

If you read the comments on that youtube Cara posted, there are plenty of people complaining about how only women find female comedians funny. Etc. Not that youtube comments are a great litmus test for the general population or anything-- just thought it was interesting.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

This weekend my brother remarked "Kristen Wigg is the best female comic to ever come off SNL." I responded "I agree, and she's the best comic period to come off SNL since Wll Ferrel." Is the problem that we first compared her to other female cast members before comparing her to the males.

Also, there is nothing on TV made to look more pitiful than the typical Ray Ramono sitcom husband. How do you think that makes me feel?

[guedita]

These corners of the internet are examples of how saturated our system is from top to bottom with the line of thinking that women are, first and foremost, bodies to be controlled. Like, nearly every time some noob gets offended by comments I make -- about logic, music, culture -- the most typical retort is to lash out comments that fall under the lines of "guedita has a dry vagina/oh she is just an ugly bitch/I'd never fuck her." These types of responses belie the pervasiveness of our patriarchal culture that Jezebel covers, but they are so....normative. What I'm saying is all moments of misogyny are legitimate because they are influenced by and perpetuating the larger problem. And, if Jezebel is leading readers to these low-readership sites, then they are in fact actively creating awareness of how expansive the problem really is.

Just to go along with Corinna's words -- I posted thoughts on something tangential to this (also regarding a Lindy West outrage post) earlier. And I think that comedy clubs and mainstraim comedy IN GENERAL is quite often a hostile place for women. And also, I absolutely feel that in most professional arenas that a woman is labeled a bitch if she's "shouting," which is usually just her expressing anything typical that any male gets the leeway of expressing without concern.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

This weekend my brother remarked "Kristen Wigg is the best female comic to ever come off SNL." I responded "I agree, and she's the best comic period to come off SNL since Wll Ferrel." Is the problem that we first compared her to other female cast members before comparing her to the males.

It's good to know you respect Kristen Wiig so much that you can't be bothered to even remotely spell her name right. Actually, i am pretty sure nobody is named "Christen."

EDIT: quick edit there, but not all the way fixed.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Get out of here this is for girls only!

[VigoTheCarpathian]

And also, I absolutely feel that in most professional arenas that a woman is labeled a bitch if she's "shouting," which is usually just her expressing anything typical that any male gets the leeway of expressing without concern.

that's funny because we get called bitch when we're too passive.

[Hannahrain]

I know a Christel.

I took the quote to within the context of the article to indicate social experiences, not professional ones. To the best of my knowledge, none of us is qualified to speak to the experience of being a professional comic.

[guedita]

Well, I don't really surround myself socially by people (men) who make me feel like I'm a bitch if I have something to say or want to be heard. So no, not in my immediate social surroundings, I don't experience that -- but on a larger scale, yes.

[Hannahrain]

Interesting. It's pretty rare that I feel ignored outside my own family. I wonder what the variable is.

[Hannahrain]

Are you nicer than I am? Because that's a pretty horrifying thought.

[amyzzz]

Hahaha Hannah.

[algunz]

She's pretty hot. I hung out with a lot of cholas back in the day and none looked that good.

This is what most of my cousins on my dad's side look like, and they are all beautiful women. We have some good genes on my Latina side. Then throw me in the mix and I look like the family curandera. !Viva la Raza!

I'd have inverted my first exclamation point if I knew how. That's my EuroMutt side.