I know what you’re thinking. This is going to be another rant about the Adam Corolla “women aren’t funny” circus.
You’re only kind of right.
I wanted to write specifically about Adam Corolla and I had written an outline last night to do just that, but I was tired and decided to write the blog tomorrow (today). By the time I got home from work today there were already 9,999,999 articles written on the topic. In less than 24 hours the topic had been beat to the ground worse than Rodney King (Too soon? Or in this case would it be too late? God I’m a horrible person). Anyway, that’s what I get for having a day job.
The truth is though; this is bigger than Adam Corolla or any other single comedian who ever said women aren’t funny. There seems to be a recent boom in “women aren’t funny” sentiment, and the majority of comments I see from women on these articles seem to blame men for everything that makes it difficult to be a woman in comedy. While historically that may have been true, and women are still not equal to men in American society in general, I have to say that I don’t think women are helping their cause these days. It’s not because I don’t think women are funny, that’s obviously not that case. I make myself laugh on a daily basis. It’s not because I don’t think men are pigs. I know better than that. It’s because women continue to group themselves and to allow themselves to be grouped into a certain category known as “female comedians”.
More and more I am seeing articles about “The 15 Funniest Women of the 21st Century” and “10 Funny Ladies you Should be Following on Twitter” and “5 New Comedy Shows Starring Female Comedians”. Most of these articles are written by women, who obviously think they are helping matters by pointing out the fact that there are funny females out there. I disagree. I don’t think it helps at all. What it does do is separate women into a particular group, essentially saying “we’re different from you!!” in big bold red letters. You will never see an article entitled “The 10 Funniest Male Comedians of 2012”. That article would just be called “The Ten Funniest Comedians of 2012”, (and they would probably all be male). Women are inadvertently taking themselves out of the group “comedians” and placing themselves into the group “female comedians”.
Group psychology is an amazing phenomenon that most people may not even realize exists. I found one interesting and comprehensive article about it called “Essentials of Group Psychology” on PsyBlog.com. While I don’t want to pick apart every relevant piece of this article (it can be found here and isthere are several relevant pieces http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/09/how-groups-form-conform-then-warp-our-decision-making-productivity-and-creativity.php )and how it relates to women being grouped in comedy, I do want to touch on a few points.
“The seeds of group behaviour are sown even before its members meet. Just knowing that some people are on 'our side' and others are not begins to shape our social identity. Group affiliation soon grows even stronger, though, bending our behaviour further, if we undergo an initiation rite” (i.e. getting on stage?) “Once we are in a group it starts to shape us through conformity, pulling our attitudes and behaviour in line with others, threatening us with ostracism if we dare to rebel and, when facing rival groups, firing our competitive spirit.” In other words, being a part of a group changes the way we think about ourselves and about others not in our group. This goes for men and women. By grouping comedians and labeling them “male” and “female”, we are automatically creating a psychological divide and ultimately a rivalry.
Another interesting point the author makes has to do with decision making in groups. “Unfortunately psychologists have found that groups suffer all kinds of biases and glitches that lead to poor choices…because group members are often very similar in background and values they are quick to adopt majority decisions. Psychologists call this groupthink. We can combat groupthink by nurturing authentic dissent. This is no mean feat as dissenters are often shunned because of the challenge they present. Support for dissenters needs to come from leaders”. “…people are likely to display group polarization when together: initial preferences actually become exaggerated by group discussions. We can reduce this by avoiding homogeneity in group composition.”
“WE CAN REDUCE THIS BY AVOIDING HOMOGENEITY IN GROUP COMPOSITION”. We can avert polarization, bias and silly herd behavior simply by not allowing ourselves to be grouped in this way. We can take away the power we keep giving every time a member of the man group belittles a member of the female group and we all go apeshit. Stop all the “funniest females” bullshit. Next time someone calls you a “funny female comedian”, say thanks, but I’m not a female comedian. I’m a comedian. Next time someone like Adam Corolla says that women aren’t funny, say to yourself “I am a woman second, and a comedian first. This does not apply to me. What else is going on in the world?” And next time someone books you on an “all-female” comedy show, take that spot, because that’s valuable stage time. Don’t be an asshole. Get up on that stage at that all-female show and make the audience piss their pants with laughter, because you are a comedian, and that’s what you do, and that’s what I’ll do at Broadway Comedy Club on June 29th on the Men-All-Pause all-female comedy show. (Dissent takes time people. It takes time.)
I will not be appearing at Broadway Comedy on June 29th. Here is a letter I got from the pro-douche-er of the show shortly after posting this blog:
Dear Ms. Carlson,
It has been brought to my attention that you have written an article that mentions the “Me...n All Pause” comedy show which could potentially cast the production in a disparaging light.
As Executive Producer of the event, and President of the company that is financing the show I can not in good faith allow you to participate in a Sol-Caritas event intended to forward the value of all comics, especially exceptional female stand-up artists, after such an inflammatory blog was posted days before the event. We take great pride in all our events. Our reputation speaks for itself. The “Men All Pause” creates a platform that Sol-Caritas fully intends to extend to all comics at venues throughout the nation. We adamantly promote all fresh, untapped talent that otherwise go overlooked, or are not offered the opportunity to showcase their material at well known comedy clubs. When I was presented the line-up, each of the comics was described as talented, progressive, clever, accomplished artists in New York . The fact that they were all professional female artists simply made the ensemble even more stellar.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, your decision to publicly decry a show you enthusiastically agreed to be part of days before the production is scheduled to debut and promote it as just another shot at “valuable stage time” undermines the value of our event and 6-fellow comics. It saddens me that you ultimately cast down women you purport to respect as professionals by suggesting their show is nothing more than another form of homogeneity.
Sol-Caritas and “Men All Pause” do not seek to “conform” or “divide”. We strive to elevate, encourage, and inspire. Unify where there would otherwise be a rivalry. Create a “network” that could advance the careers of talented artists. Until the industry’s finest comics, male and female, can claim a reputation where their name alone opens doors and commands sold-out arenas, any opportunity to work at creating that “name” should be appreciated, not maligned.
Thank you for your kind consideration. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely, Carlos Wallace President/CEO Sol-Caritas.com
"This is no mean feat as dissenters are often shunned because of the challenge they present."
This "comedy producer" did not recognize that my closing remark was a tongue-in-cheek PLUG for his show. How disappointing. This is who's booking comedy shows. Self-aggrandizing douche nozzles with zero sense of humor who seek to stifle free speech. The next day, he went on to explain to me what comedy is and what it isn't (of course, having never stepped foot on-stage himself), and to tell me I was a foolish little girl who should know when to keep my mouth shut. More on this later. For now, please enjoy this screen shot of Carlos Wallace "uplifting women" on his Facebook page.
