Talking Funny

Through a recent NYT piece on female comedians, I read a 2007 Vanity Fair article by Christopher Hitchens entitled “Why Women Aren’t Funny” which left me nothing short of stunned.
Hitchens’ starts off by claiming that, whereas women list a man’s sense of humour as a quality, men seldom reciprocate and won’t be heard saying “Oh, she’s great, beautiful… and, man, does she make me laugh!”. Firstly because men usually don’t find women funny and, secondly, because they don’t really care if they are. It’s all about looks, says Hitchens. Men, he writes, are funnier because they need to be funny, otherwise they won’t get laid. Being funny’s a survival instinct. Women, on the other hand, need do nothing than just “be” to attract men.
I beg to differ.
I don’t know whether Hitchens’ a perv or surrounded exclusively by beautiful women but that whole “just being” thing never got me anywhere.
I, unfortunately, lack many a physical attribute. I’m no Shrek, thank the Lord (and my parents, they had something to do with it after all), but I’m no stunner either. However, for some inexplicable reason, I always end up hanging with the cool crew of beautiful people: since school my friends are so incredibly good-looking you’d think I picked them right off the runway. So, from a very early age, rather than being the pretty girl, I was their little gremlin sidekick.
But I was ok with that because I was funny. I made kids laugh. I was the typical class clown and nothing thrilled me more than hearing the classroom roar at one of my insolent, cheeky remarks that could get me into trouble, sure, but, God, was it worth it!
Plus, I moved around a lot as a kid and changed school every 3 or 4 years, leaving friends behind and having to make new ones all the time. Humour was the best and quickest way to make new friends: girls weren’t threatened by me and boys knew I would be hassle-free and “one of the guys”, so we all got along just great.
Indeed, humour’s been my defence mechanism since forever and, contrary to Hitchens’ belief, being funny is actually a great way to get guys’ attention.
Obviously, you’ll always have your stereotypical alpha-male with an inferiority complex, who’d rather date a brainless bimbo with a pretty face, round ass and great pair of legs and tits than a girl that can keep up a conversation, even if she too has a pretty face, round ass and great pair of legs and tits. But those boys aren’t really my type anyway, so it’s all good.
Risk number two is that being funny is a trip on the fast lane straight into the “friend zone”. That never really bothered me either: I didn’t really give too much a damn about dating until very late in life. Spending lunch-break smooching and walking around hand in hand with a boyfriend seemed to me like an utter waste of time and I’d much rather spend it running after a football or fooling around (in the non-sexual connotation of the expression, of course).
But, overall, those brave few guys that liked me, I know liked me because I was witty and sarcastic. So, either I‘m the exception to your rule, Mr. Hitchens, or living proof that your theory’s bullsh*t.
Hitchens’ then outrageously concludes his article by affirming that women could never be as funny as men because they reproduce and conceive babies whilst men don’t. Because we women carry babies, everything else in life is secondary, wit included. *GASP* Seriously?! It’s just too offensive and despicable for words. It would be like arguing with Tom Cruise about scientology: pointless. Best I just move on…
I must, nonetheless, sadly agree with Hitchens on one thing: funny women are, sadly, an exception.
I know it’s incredibly sexist but women have to work twice as hard behind a stand-up mic because the simple fact that they’re female makes me think “ah, this is going to tank”. I don’t know why it is. Prejudice, pure and simple? If a woman and a man tell exactly the same joke, odds are we’ll laugh at the guy telling it but not the girl, right? A very silly yet credible Stanford University research proved that men and women have the same humour-response system, they find the same things funny, so the problem isn’t so much the message, i.e. the joke, but rather the messenger, i.e. the comedian.
But what if women simply can’t come up with funny material? Hitchens’ theory is that humour, being a sign of intelligence, should not be demonstrated by women, being men threatened by clever women and all… *GASP AGAIN* Wait, what? Jesus!, where did this guy come from? Again, I really don’t know which crowd Hitchens’ been hanging out with but he needs a new batch of friends, preferably from the 21^st century.
So then is it because men, in general, are just better at telling jokes, no matter how good or bad that joke is? Or are women doomed to social bigotry?
This discussion on whether women are as funny as men or not isn’t new and it hasn’t been settled, nor does it look like it will be any time soon but, the sad truth is my main comedic references are, indeed, overwhelmingly male.
However, there is hope! My “funny girl” quota’s been increasing in recent years and female comediennes have become very important and solid references I greatly admire.
Tina Fey is an obvious choice. I absolutely adore her and everything she does, acts in and writes. She is the best thing to have hit the comedy scene in a long time and 30 Rock is one of the funniest shows ever. Plus, she’s gorgeous to boot, that geeky, gawky, gangly kind of gorgeous. My all time favourite funny girl, without doubt.

Sexy Sarah Silverman was nothing short of groundbreaking when she started doing stand up. Unfiltered and brash, she’s shockingly funny, leaving even the most open-minded audience uncomfortable: nothing’s taboo or off limits. You don’t know whether to gasp and cringe or laugh and applaud.
She famously jokes “I was raped by a doctor, which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.” It’s all there, wrapped into a one-liner. “Come on”, she adds, “who’s going to complain about rape jokes? Rape victims? They barely even report rape.” Cherry on top.



Kristen Wiig is another SNL girl that is funny through and through. Although I’m not quite sure she does stand up, her SNL characters are wonderful (Dooneese will make you wet yourself, seriously) and her self-depreciating humour, which delights me to bits, made the relatively crappy Bridesmaid worthwhile.



And there are others: Wanda Sykes, Catherine Tate, Mindy Kaling, French and Saunders, even Ellen DeGeneres, despite her God awful, annoyingly obnoxious talk show (what’s with all the dancing?!) made me laugh to tears with her HBOspecials. And then there are female comediennes ranking my all time favourite TV characters: Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Jane Lynch as Coach Sylvester, Kristen Schaal as the adorably awkward Mel on FOTC…
I honestly believe women can be as funny, it isn’t a gender issue. It’s a social issue.
Men, in general, are ballsy, outspoken, candid and somewhat thoughtless and inconsiderate, whereas women tend to overthink, care too much about others’ opinions and feelings, prefer to withdraw and keep a low-profile. I am aware this is a simplified generalisation and that there are obviously exceptions to both genders but, come on!, it’s been so overdone only because it’s true: a ruthless businessman is a competent go-getter; the women, a stone-hearted bitch. It’s no different in comedy: a man tells a dirty sex joke, it’s hilarious and daring; if it’s a woman, she’s a crass whore.
As we grow up, humour becomes increasingly about sarcasm and mockery: being funny becomes synonymous with being mean, even if it’s being mean to no one but yourself. Girls don’t like being mean. We’re all sugar, spice and all things nice, right? Truth is I’d rather offend someone than pass the chance of getting a laugh, even if only my own. Eyes almost popping out of their sockets in shock is the new laughter.
It’s a man’s world, right? So, girls, grow a pair and be funny!!