Blog 12

Alessandra Bisconti

April 17, 2015

Blog 12

Why We Laugh

            Laughter initiates from deep within and explodes from your body instinctively. It can uplift your spirits immediately. So why does it matter where this laughter stems from? No matter the quality of the comedy, women are always degraded for their effectiveness as a comedian. Society proclaims the face of comedy to be man. Women aren’t funny; so we are told. The women in the documentary “Why We Laugh” discuss female comedian roles through first hand experience.

            The proof is ubiquitous. We live in a time where comedy is still predominately geared towards masculinity in a man’s world.  Joan Rivers discusses in the documentary how, in her opinion, the percentage of lesbian women in comedy averages to about 70%. This is because they have an advantage due to their strong connection to their masculine side. These are the qualities that our world deems funniest. I believe that masculinity should not and does not have any correlation to the amount of funniness. Like mentioned earlier, it should not matter where the source id coming from. Laughter is a feeling that comes natural, and we shouldn’t limit it just because of gender.

            Gender also hinders female comedians in other ways. Not only do women have to struggle with stereotypes on stage, but their personal lives suffer as well. Starting a career and being successful is a difficult task. Maintaining a normal life at the same time is also a challenge because starting a family is impossible. Male comedians have no restraints because they have wives at home to take care of the kids. On the other hand, women comedians are expected to care for the children, provide all meals…oh and be funny too.

            It’s a shame that women are so overlooked in the comedy world. Today in class, I barely recognized half of the women in the documentary. They are not marketed as much as males are. Women comedians are like diamonds in the ruff. The movie Bridesmaids has an all female cast, and I personally find that movie powerful, positive for women, and hysterical. If collaborations with female and male comedians were put in place, we could strip comedy of gender reliance, and focus on the quality of performance. They should be appreciated more and stripped of stereotypes and sexual connotations. What’s funny is funny, so just laugh!