Humor is an envied characteristic in this world. People crave its results, men and women both. But, what about those who deliver it? Men and women alike can be funny. However, there is a stigma when women try to be funny. For some reason, it seems men cultivate the area of humor easier and faster than girls. Men are viewed as witty and intelligent individuals and in some instances women are not.
Typically, most women have to work a lot harder to be labeled as “the funny girl." There is also a presupposition toward women saying those who attempt to be funny are just trying too hard. Think about it; the class clown is usually a guy. For the longest time, the comedic relief in a movie was usually a guy. However, in this day and age, women are starting to rise up in the comedy world, especially in movies. There are more and more films with comedic leading ladies than before. Being funny has come a long way with women, but the idea is still conceived that women have a harder time being perceived as funny.
Famous atheist Christopher Hitchens, wrote an article for Vanity Fair titled, “Why Women Still Aren’t Funny.” In this, he confidently stated and believed that women are not funny. The reasoning behind his statement goes back to the purpose of man and women in relation to one another.
“The chief task in life that a man has to perform is that of impressing the opposite sex," said Hitchens.
He then goes on to explain if “Mother Nature” didn’t bless a male with physical appearance, they had only one other thing to rely on to impress women: humor. Women, on the other hand, don’t need humor to attract males because no matter their facial features, they still have the parts a male is attracted to causing no need for women to be funny.
According to blogger, Kathy Benjamin, women weren’t nurtured as girls to be funny. She suggests society has stifled their humor because of the expectation of girls to act like ladies exemplifying politeness, kindness, and meekness.
“Think back to elementary school. You probably had a class clown, and it was almost certainly a boy. Boys are allowed to be loud and funny and play practical jokes, and girls are encouraged to act like little ladies. And ladies sit quietly and decidedly do not draw attention to themselves through loud jokes or pranks," Benjamin said.
Men have been trained to be funny, it’s as simple as that.
Muted Group Theory posits that groups at the top of the social hierarchy determine the communication system for the culture. From the book called "Spiral of Silence: Introducing Communication," authors West and Turner said, “Lower power groups in society, such as women, the poor, and people of color, have to learn to work within the communication system that the dominant group has already established." MGT has focused on woman as being a “muted group,” and states that men are the dominant group in culture. Women have had to adapt to the type of humor already set by males in society. They feel the need to be the same type of funny as men. Another aspect of MGT is, in this case, women feel unable to be funny because of the lack of power. The dominance of men can shut women down simply because of their sexual classification.
Female stand-up comedian, Michele A’Court stated, “Women are socialized out of being comedians. The comic is the most powerful person in the room – the one with all the ideas and the opinions and the microphone. Women are socialized (and yes, this is a huge generalization but it has enough truth to be worth saying out loud) to facilitate power, rather than be the one with the power.” Thus, women are told and taught that either they shouldn’t be or they are inherently incapable of being funny more often than not.
Feminism almost kills the differences between men and women. It is natural for these two sexes to be dissimilar and praised for their differences. If women are expected to be just as funny as men, their comedic aspirations will die. Women and men were made to be different. Hitchens firmly believes that if women just accepted their differences and put aside their skewed feminist aspirations, girls might actually be seen as funny more often.
Women have the potential to be funny, they really do. However, I can see why Hitchens believes what he does. I think women need to celebrate their differences from men, even in comedy.
So many girl comedians nowadays are vulgar as stated in an earlier paragraph. This is because of the imitation of successful male comedy done this way. However, it doesn’t work for everyone! Women and men are different, simply put.
In a society where women are now rising up and feminism is getting bigger and bigger, in some form or another we are forgetting who we really are as women. It is completely possible for us as women to be funny, just in our own way. Lucille Ball, famous actress was known for her show, “I Love Lucy.” This show was huge back then as Ball was a female lead character in a comedy show. However, her interpretation of comedy was different than most female comics to this day. Women believe we have to copy male comedy, but we don’t. Ball had her own type of comedy that worked tremendously for her. It didn’t include foul language, farting jokes, or inappropriate jokes that some males thrive in. She was just her goofy self.
Women need to reevaluate their purpose in why they are being funny because they have so much potential to be as long as they stay true to themselves. They need to be the Lucille Ball in a world full of bad-mannered and offensive comics. Women have the power to be funny. An appreciation and acceptance of their difference will not only make others intrigued but provide them with a sincere and love-able type of humor.
Girls are funny, they just don’t know it yet.
(Don't get me wrong, I do think Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and some present-day female comedians can be funny most of the time. I am also not knocking these comedians either. I've just seen from my experience this type of comedy doesn't work for everyone. Okay, I'm done.)
