Comedian Kristen Wiig once pointed out, “There are so many funny women in the world, and there have been for so many years, so I’ll be happy when people can just move on from that, and things can just be ‘comedies’ and not ‘female’ or ‘male,’ and everyone gets an equal opportunity.”
Bridesmaids is not a female comedy; it is a comedy. Pitch Perfect is not a female comedy; it’s a comedy. Wiig, Amy Poehler, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph; they are not female comedians, they are comedians. You get the point. Once we start labeling these works as inherently “female”, they seem to drop in relevancy, significance, and importance in society’s eyes.
Thus begins the relentless discussion of “Oh, for a female-based comedy, it was good”, or similarly, “For a female comedian, she’s really funny”. To preface something as a female ‘anything’ seems to immediately drops its significance as a work. While, yes, the adjective that describes their gender is indeed correct, it should not be used to preface their title as if it is somewhat of a warning sign: “BE WARNED: THE COMEDY YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS CENTERED AROUND WOMEN. THEREFORE, IT WILL BE UNDENIABLY LESS FUNNY”.
For some reason unbeknownst to me, men are comedians, and women are female comedians. As if comedy belongs to one gender, and the opposite gender gets to rent out a little piece of it for a few nights out of the year. I don’t know about you, but I have never laughed harder at any stand-up comedian than I have at Amy Schumer. For this, I think she deserves to be recognized as a comedian, without any strings attached.
A recent article from Vanity Fair described the surge in “women-led comedies” a “phenomenon”. Amazing. Incredible. What a miracle that the predominantly male-driven industry is allowing women a few movies here and there to, believe it or not, actually be funny.
Yes, there has been a “recent surge of female-driven comedies”. Since 2011, following the success of Bridesmaids, we have seen a number of movies come out with “strong female casts”. Shockingly enough, however, 2011 was not the first year that women were funny. (See: Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Betty White. I rest my case.)
Bridesmaids, Mean Girls, Pitch Perfect: if these movies were not described as “female comedies”, they would not be thought of as anything less than just “comedies”. And yet, more than likely, the use of the word “female” as the sole descriptor of the product has probably turned away some potential viewers from seeing these films.
I’m not writing any of this to attack any gender or anything other than comment on the workings of society. Maybe it is just the feminist coming out in me, but I think we should start talking about men and women as equals, in all aspects of life. Crazy idea, I know, but it is 2015. We don’t describe Michael Phelps as a male swimmer; he is a swimmer. Women are basketball players, filmmakers, scientific researchers, cultural icons, world leaders. The incessant use of the adjective “female” in front of any description of a woman is unnecessary, and seemingly degrading to that woman’s talent and abilities. I truly believe we are making great leaps forward in regards to social and political issues, but we still have further to go.
Women are people. Women are funny.
I’ll step down from my soapbox now, but I intend to stand by this idea. I am a female, but I am not a female writer, I am a writer. My friends are not a female students, they are students.
Kristen Wiig is not a female comedian, she is a comedian, and she’s a damn good one.
