This past Friday, I was at a friends birthday sitting next to a lovely couple. When talking to the guy, somehow we got on to the conversation about females and comedy and he said to me ‘I usually don’t find women funny.’ Having heard this atrocious statement before, I laughed it off and continued the conversation. All the while thinking to myself, ‘this guy must be stupid.’
The next morning however, I couldn’t get this thought out of my head ‘I don’t find women funny’. What’s that all about? How can that be a thing? The worst part is that I have heard this said by so many males over the years. This line is so f-ing sexist, and yet, these men don’t believe that they are in fact actually sexist. I want to punch them all in the face. Often when I hear stupidity like this, I envision that my life is like Ally McBeal’s and a cartoon baby will come across the room and flick this man in the nuts. Women are hilarious. It’s a fact. I myself make people nearly pee themselves laughing, and I’m not even a classified funny person. Except if you’re asking me, because according to myself, I’m freaking hilarious. Is that bad? Can I say that? Women are supposed to be modest. Well you know what…modesty can suck-it. Just like Trebek. I’m funny and I know it.
What infuriates me the most is that in many cases when a man doesn’t find a woman’s joke funny, it’s because (I believe) a woman delivered the punch line. And if a man delivered the same joke, they would have found it hilarious. Please note that none of the last two sentences and observations were backed by science. That said, a joke is joke is it not? Is it because we have periods that the joke didn’t come off as funny? That’s it isn’t it? Because of our tampons. This is why so many women still write under gender neutral and/or pseudo names so that it levels the playing field (J. K. Rowling). Bullshit if you ask me. What I also don’t understand is how in 2014, this sentiment that ‘women aren’t funny’ is still a thing. Get used to it suckers, we’re not going to sit back and be polite objects that fold things anymore. We have opinions, we have value, we make jokes. And damn good ones!
The fact of the matter is that women are equally as funny as men. And, just as some men aren’t funny at all, some women aren’t funny either. That’s the way it goes. Some are and some aren’t. However, funny is something that isn’t gender biased, it’s humour biased.
Because of this, below is a list of some of the funniest people on the planet current:
- Tina Fey. Um hello. This woman made SNL funny again. 30 Rock was brilliant and can we say Mean Girls?
- Amy Poehler. From Parks and Rec to Baby Mama to SNL, to the Golden Globes, this golden beauty can do no wrong when it comes to jokes.
- Sarah Silverman. The content that comes out of this woman’s mouth is borderline offensive and 100% hilarious.
- Joan Rivers. She’s in her 80’s and can out joke anyone. She can also make Jimmy Fallon extremely uncomfortable.
- Chelsea Handler. She was a night time talk show host who held her own and more in a sea of white men.
- Ellen Degeneres. What’s not to love about this woman!
- Wanda Sykes. She is funny without even making a joke because of the tone of her voice. I love this woman.
- Whoopi Goldberg. A role-model who is more than funny. She’s epic.
- Kristen Wiig. No one does awkward quite like she does. I just love her.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I can’t believe I almost missed her. Animated and quirky and sexy all at once!
- Maya Rudolph. Kristen Wiig’s dream comedy companion. This woman is brilliant.
- Mindy Kaling. Pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth is comedic genius.
- Lori Isber. She’s my friend. She’s really funny.
As you can see that this list is just women. Word-class comedians that can hold their own amongst any man. There are obviously way more funny women out there. And there are obviously brilliant funny men out there: Seinfeld, Louis CK, Jimmy Fallon, and Alec Baldwin just to name a few. But, the point of this article is to say that women are in fact just as funny as men. And that to say you don’t find ‘women funny’ makes you look like a weenie, when in fact you might not be one. Perhaps you’re just kind of dumb. With this in mind, the next time some idiot utters the words ‘I don’t find women funny,’ punch him in the jaw and direct him to the internet.
FYI: Lucille Ball is a legend. A legit legend.
17 Responses to “Girls aren’t funny”
April 8, 2014
Linda Julia PaolucciAmen, Jen. I can’t believe this debate still constantly appears after being so thoroughly disproven time and time again by hilarious lady after hilarious lady. It seems it bobs up again every time another girl says a funny thing. There’s more and more female driven comedy on TV. Broad City is unapologetically crude and fun.
One of my personal comedic heroines is Kaitlin Olson, who plays Sweet Dee on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. When they were casting the show, she made clear she had no interest in serving as a boring female foil while the men had all the fun. (So often the woman plays the nagging voice of reason–“you guyyyyyyys!”) Nope, she gets down and dirty with the rest of them and is just a riot.
I think when men say “I don’t find women funny” they mean “I can’t deal with funny women” which is an entirely different argument. It is absolutely sexist, though, no doubt. How can you write off half the population of the planet? It’s just gender role bullshit. Not women can’t be funny, but women shouldn’t be funny. They should be waiting at home in heels with a pot roast and heaven forbid she should arrange the onions and carrots to look like a bunch of wieners.
How sad must it be to live with such blinders on. One of life’s purest pleasures is sharing a laugh, and these men feel like half the world is useless in that regard. Although, (and I’m really rambling now) I did read an article in Maclean’s a few years back that gave some insight. Both men and women look for a sense of humour in the other. Men, however, are more often looking for an audience. Women aren’t funny, they’re just there to appreciate how funny men are.
I find men are a lot more confident. (Perhaps because nobody has written article after article about how stupid, frivolous, unfunny and emotional men are) Dudes tell me bad jokes all the time and stare at me like I’m supposed to burst out laughing. I never took any of these shitty jokes to mean dudes weren’t funny. Just those specific dudes. You’re absolutely right. Some men are funny, some aren’t. Some women are funny, some aren’t. And Jen, girl you funny.
April 9, 2014
Jen WoodallThanks Linda. I think you’re right in saying that it probably means that they can’t deal with funny women. I can’t count the number of times that men have been surprised by the fact that I’m actually funny. It’s crazy.
FYI – you’re hilarious. And I’m hoping we can write some stuff together soon!
April 8, 2014
PaulIt’s not that women aren’t funny, men are just funnier because we have to be.
April 9, 2014
Jen WoodallMen aren’t funnier. That’s the point. Equally funny. EQUAL. 🙂
April 9, 2014
CaseyWhy does it bother you so much that most men don’t find women funny? We clearly have different senses of humor and I myself don’t find any women stand-up comedians tolerable. That’s just because of what I find funny.
April 9, 2014
Ravi AujlaI’d say women in general are not great comedians. The list above are the elite few who are actually funny. This is why they are all A-listers. But once you get down into the B list and even the lower levels of stand up comedians out there, they start to become rare.
April 9, 2014
Jen WoodallA lot of B-List male comedians are terrible too. What’s happening right now is women are taking down the comedy wall that’s supported by sexism. More and more women are gaining the confidence that they are talented writers and comedians. Soon female comedians everywhere are going to make it rain. Make it rain.
April 10, 2014
Ravi AujlaI think it’s largely due to the content women were trying to write. In the past I noticed a lot of women taking “male styled” content and giving it a female twist – which IMO wasn’t funny at all.
I find when women come up with their own style of content, it’s much more funny. Not speaking gender specific at all – just their own style.
April 9, 2014
PaulIf you look at the landscape of comedy, there are way more male standup comedians and writers than female. Woman who are funny actually get extra attention because there are so few of them in proportion to men.
The reason for this is not some invisible wall of sexism. It’s just a simple numbers game. There are more funny men out there quite frankly because as a male, being funny can get you laid. Thus men have a strong physical and sociological motivation to be funny. Women as a gender don’t have this same overwhelming motivation to be funny and thus there are fewer funny women in the world than funny men.
Again, it’s not that women aren’t funny, it’s just that there are more funny men in the world than funny women. And I’m afraid this will always be the case simply because men have more motivation to be funny.
April 9, 2014
KarenHe’s an idiot.
April 10, 2014
PaulYou’re fat. (If this is what you want then lets go)
April 10, 2014
Jen WoodallAre you kidding me? You just actually went from accidentally dumb to a full blown dummy. Calling someone fat is childish and obnoxious.
April 10, 2014
PaulReally? And calling someone an idiot is perfectly mature and thoughtful? Hypocritical much? It’s actually my fault for thinking that a comment section wouldn’t deteriorate into a name calling match.
BTW, if Karen really is fat then I apologize. If Karen is skinny then the fat comment stands.
April 10, 2014
Jen WoodallYou’re right, no one should have called anyone an idiot. It’s very frustrating being a female writer and a female humour writer when you read statements about why we’re not as funny. Yes there are less women comedians out there, but that’s only because we haven’t broken down that barrier yet. Women are still working hard at defeating sexism. We are your equals. Even when it comes to humour.
April 10, 2014
PaulWow, I appreciate the thoughtful response. I really don’t think that these barriers that you’re talking about actually exist. Comedy, particularly stand up comedy, is a meritocracy. If someone is funny then people will laugh. It’s similar to sports in that nobody really cares what race you are or whether or not you have a dick. People judge you by how good you are.
I stand by my original statement in regards to there being more funny guys in the world than funny women simply because of sociological factors. However there is nothing holding women back from being funny if they so choose to be. Tina Fey is funnier than 99.9% of men in the world because she’s talented and because she applies herself. You can certainly do the same thing. There really is nothing holding you or anyone else back.
June 26, 2014
SethSo I agree with you 100%. Funny is funny no matter who says it… BUT Female Comedy – sometimes doesn’t resonate with me the same way. For instance – you forgot to mention Broad City OR Amy Schumer – both funny but frequently there are jokes that as a man, I have no connection to or frame of reference. I would guess in the same way women may not find the misogynistic humor of Andrew Dice Clay funny. Not that it IS, per se – but you have no frame or reference.
June 27, 2014
Jen WoodallI guess I understand that. There are things that happen to us, that you’ll never understand. But not resonating in the same way is completely different than not being funny. Glad you can see the difference!