Another comedy festival with very few female performers, another article asking the question "Are men funnier than women?"
Ho hum. The last time this debate raged in the media was with the the release of the film Bridesmaids, when it was considered groundbreaking for women to appear in an all-female comedy that people actually enjoyed. What a concept!
Excuse me, but what century are we in? Why are there so many people out there who still seem to believe that having a vagina and the ability to make people laugh are mutually exclusive? What does gender even have to do with comic ability? Some PEOPLE are funny, and some PEOPLE are not. X & Y chromosones have nothing to do with it. The reason there are fewer female comedians around is that women are not encouraged to be the centre of attention. There are so many subtle messages sent to young girls about what is desirable behaviour, and making wisecracks and being the class clown are not high up there. Instead young girls are still taught that their main achievement in life is to look good and look after others.
Not the sort of messages that are going to encourage young women to get up at an open mic night. None of this is going to change until women decide that enough is enough, and start challenging the insidious messages that young girls are exposed to every day. The lack of female comedians is a symptom of a far deeper problem which unfortunately seems to be getting worse if you look at the sexualized clothes and toys that are marketed to children these days. The Bratz dolls are a perfect example of this. At least the lips are funny, if nothing else. Angelina eat your heart out.
http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/are-female-comedians-still-a-niche-genre-20120404-1wclx.html
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