Women in Comedy

Growing up, I was not stunning. I did not go out on dates. I was really nerdy and kind of an asshole. I spent many nights alone in my room while others went to their first party and drank. I sent alone in my bed watching stand up specials and snl sketches. Comedy became my escape from my shitty reality of being an outcast. What was even better was that most stand up comedians talked about their outcast teen years too. I finally had a connection to people who were famous in their years after high school, and made it on their talent of storytelling rather than beauty.

I remember the first time I read Tina Fey’s book, Bossy Pants. It was a game changer. I read that book like it was the Bible and I was a devout Mormon. I memorized portions, read it to my campers, and lent it to all of my friends. I did the same with Amy Poehler’s book, Yes Please, and many of Chelsea Handler’s memoirs. I have always had outrageously funny women to look up to who did not peak in high school. They gave me hope for the after.

So when I was looking for a class to fulfill my writing requirement, I wanted something fun and easy, and wouldn’t you know, Film 150 for Sketch Comedy Writing was offered at UCSC. In my head, I was set on an easy A and a class filled with watching comedy sketches all day. In reality, I showed up on the first day, two minutes late, and surprised to find only men sitting in the classroom. Of the 20 people registered, 16 were men, 4 were women. I could already tell that I was gonna have a weird time in the class, mainly because anytime I stood up, I could feel sets of eyes staring at my butt or chest.I clearly blossomed after high school, but in most academic settings, guys were more polite about ignoring my looks and focusing on what I had to say. This class was 90% discussion, and 10% Lecture, and most of the guys could care less about what I had to say.

Each class, we had a sketch due, and at the end we would all vote on the top three funniest sketches. We would spend the first portion going over how to write or format a piece, and the rest was spent cold reading each sketch and editing it in front of everyone. On multiple occasions I found myself saying, “this is not how women talk to each other”. When they read my sketches, it was usually met with concern or confusion. Three out of Eight of my sketches won class competitions. I started to realize that the only way to win was to cater to my audience of all men. I started writing exclusively dick jokes, and here I am, proudly showcasing them for my final.

I can’t help but wonder why it was so easy for me to write diverse female voices, but my male classmates were lost. Did they not know any funny women? Did they only watch Dane Cook growing up? Did they not find women funny? In 5 weeks, I only talked to three male classmates before the last week of class. They were all guys who were either married, older than me, or quiet. The women were hilarious, but our four dropped to three in the middle of the session. We never became that close to one another, but there was a silent solidarity with each other’s sketches that was apparent when guys tried to critique a female character.

I am still extremely curious to know if they other guys in the class have female comedians that they look to as inspirational or amusing. I could list the women I find funny in my life and on a screen, but I do not have the attention span or word limit. My point is, female comedians got me through my teenage years and showed me that there was hope for after I graduate high school and college. Comedy in general kept me company when I was left out of the social networking of high school. Comedy kept me sane when boys were mean, or when deaths occurred, or when life in general didn’t go according to plan. I took this class thinking that I wouldn’t learn much but it taught me more than I have learned in 4 other upper division writing courses. Arguably, I also learned more about gender roles and gender dynamics than I did in any other class in the history and women’s studies department combined.

This is not to shit on the guys in my class. It is merely a question to my guy friends and readers out there: do you find women funny? Are the times you laugh when a woman is on the screen because she is talking like a man or is it because her story telling is actually entertaining? Do you find the women in your life funny? Or do you only see your male friends as your funny friends?

I am genuinely curious to hear from my friends, and see if any of them will honestly tell me their answers. On that note, this is just another thing I will tell my therapist.