Is it just me ... or do women make terrible comedians?
- Thread starter Inchronica
- Start date
I don't know if anyone's mentioned her yet...I only skimmed the first page of this topic...but if no one's mentioned Maria Bamford you might want to consider checking some of her stuff out. I think she's quite amusing (though the Maria Bamford show on Youtube...20 some-odd episodes, I think...can be a bit hit and miss from time to time).
As an edit, I will say that most "popular" women comedians really...aren't that funny. More annoying actually. Like Silverman and Cho.
As an edit, I will say that most "popular" women comedians really...aren't that funny. More annoying actually. Like Silverman and Cho.
The lovely Sarah Millican
The bouncy Lucy Porter
The brilliant Shappi Khorsandi
The utterly amazing Victoria Wood (I love this song so much)
The US conquering Gina Yashere
And my favourite... The nerdy and offbeat Josie Long
See? Such a wide range of comedy. There must be something there that you enjoy. However it's all down to personal taste. I can't stand Miranda Hart, don't think she is funny at all, but when it comes to female vs male comedians there isn't one that is naturally better. It's just comedy style.
The bouncy Lucy Porter
The brilliant Shappi Khorsandi
The utterly amazing Victoria Wood (I love this song so much)
The US conquering Gina Yashere
And my favourite... The nerdy and offbeat Josie Long
See? Such a wide range of comedy. There must be something there that you enjoy. However it's all down to personal taste. I can't stand Miranda Hart, don't think she is funny at all, but when it comes to female vs male comedians there isn't one that is naturally better. It's just comedy style.
Funny women are rare, and I agree the general rule is that a female comedian is less funny than many of the men.
Sadly, the most popular female comedians overshadow some of the funnier ones. Take Sarah Millican, her entire act consists of "ooh I'm lonely" "men don't like me" and "cake". It's just not funny, I don't care, think of some actual jokes rather than focusing on the worst aspects of your own life. Compare that live at the Apollo performance to Al Murray single handedly proving Bacon is God, and you have a good contrast between the higher ranked male and female comedians..
This isn't to say women can't be funny, just that generally they're not.
Sadly, the most popular female comedians overshadow some of the funnier ones. Take Sarah Millican, her entire act consists of "ooh I'm lonely" "men don't like me" and "cake". It's just not funny, I don't care, think of some actual jokes rather than focusing on the worst aspects of your own life. Compare that live at the Apollo performance to Al Murray single handedly proving Bacon is God, and you have a good contrast between the higher ranked male and female comedians..
This isn't to say women can't be funny, just that generally they're not.
90% of comedians are men. 95% of comedians are terrible. Good female comedians are necessarily quite rare, but that has nothing to do with gender.
Tina Fey is funny on 30 Rock. Amy Poehler is funny on Parks and Recreation. Sarah Silverman is funny anywhere. Humorous women exist.
Tina Fey is funny on 30 Rock. Amy Poehler is funny on Parks and Recreation. Sarah Silverman is funny anywhere. Humorous women exist.
That's a very popular generalisation, which makes me think that female comedians are either all about catering to their gender, or they're like British comedy in general: divisive.
In the UK we have Jo Brand. She's very deadpan, but universally loved (universally as in, I asked 10 people and they all loved her). Sarah Silverman on the other hand, doesn't seem to get any ratings at all from anyone I know.
I mean comedy mostly works because people can relate. So really, any comedian is capable of being hilarious, male or female. But if you can't relate, you can't relate.
...Sara Silverman's pretty hot though, and she uses that quite a lot these days? Or am I wrong?
EDIT: YES! And Gina Yashere! She's good!
In the UK we have Jo Brand. She's very deadpan, but universally loved (universally as in, I asked 10 people and they all loved her). Sarah Silverman on the other hand, doesn't seem to get any ratings at all from anyone I know.
I mean comedy mostly works because people can relate. So really, any comedian is capable of being hilarious, male or female. But if you can't relate, you can't relate.
...Sara Silverman's pretty hot though, and she uses that quite a lot these days? Or am I wrong?
EDIT: YES! And Gina Yashere! She's good!
Oh dear...
I think the problem is currently the comedy market at the moment is male dominated so the chances of the best comedian in the world being female is quite slim.
However, comedy is about relating to people. If a female can only relate to females then yeah, to a bloke the humour isn't going to be all that good, the same goes for men who only can relate to men.
Also, there are two types of female comedians (as there are male comedians!), the actor, and the stand up (and the writer, so three types I guess).
Yeah, there are few female stand up comedians in Britian (where I'm currently typing from) but despite the small market there are so fab ones such as Jo Brand.
And then there are the actor/writer comedians which there are more of, a wider varity of talent of, but then there are some out standing ones like the great Victoria Wood.
Victoria Wood is a good case study as she plays to her stengths. She's a musician, so she makes that part of her act, she's a script writer, so she'll write parts for other people who are comically skilled to play (as well as doing it herself too), also she does stand up and has her own style. If she wasn't good at all these things, she wouldn't do them.
Sure, some try too hard and it shows but so do some male comedians too. It's just more noticable for the women as there's more of a chance than blokes that they'll have a chip on their shoulder the size of a fish supper.
I think the problem is currently the comedy market at the moment is male dominated so the chances of the best comedian in the world being female is quite slim.
However, comedy is about relating to people. If a female can only relate to females then yeah, to a bloke the humour isn't going to be all that good, the same goes for men who only can relate to men.
Also, there are two types of female comedians (as there are male comedians!), the actor, and the stand up (and the writer, so three types I guess).
Yeah, there are few female stand up comedians in Britian (where I'm currently typing from) but despite the small market there are so fab ones such as Jo Brand.
And then there are the actor/writer comedians which there are more of, a wider varity of talent of, but then there are some out standing ones like the great Victoria Wood.
Victoria Wood is a good case study as she plays to her stengths. She's a musician, so she makes that part of her act, she's a script writer, so she'll write parts for other people who are comically skilled to play (as well as doing it herself too), also she does stand up and has her own style. If she wasn't good at all these things, she wouldn't do them.
Sure, some try too hard and it shows but so do some male comedians too. It's just more noticable for the women as there's more of a chance than blokes that they'll have a chip on their shoulder the size of a fish supper.
Perhaps its because Im a Brit but I stopped watching this video after 1minute! Shes not funny! I love when American comics rip on us but she sucked all the fun out of it!Rayne870 said:you just haven't seen the right ones, there are a lot of terrible ones out there, just as there are terrible male comedians.
I love
She does a rap of Lucy in the sky with diamonds, that is just pricelss. Which isn't in here and I cant find
I agree women comedians are generally not funny (not saying they can't be, I just haven't seen one). I do have a couple theories as to why this is:
I once read that biologically men are naturally more funny than women. This is because of mating and reproductive characteristics. Men need to be funny if they want to have a better chance of attracting a woman. Thus, they have to be funny in order to find a mate. (this is not my theory just one I read somewhere else).
My theory is that I find the best stand up routines are usually rant's or simply complaining about the negative in a subject (or close to something like that). Therefore, when women do it perhaps it comes off less like comedy or rants and more like them just bitching or nagging.
I am not really sure exactly the reason why, these are just some hypothesis I have. And while I hold the notion that women comedians aren't funny, I am willing to give them a chance.
I once read that biologically men are naturally more funny than women. This is because of mating and reproductive characteristics. Men need to be funny if they want to have a better chance of attracting a woman. Thus, they have to be funny in order to find a mate. (this is not my theory just one I read somewhere else).
My theory is that I find the best stand up routines are usually rant's or simply complaining about the negative in a subject (or close to something like that). Therefore, when women do it perhaps it comes off less like comedy or rants and more like them just bitching or nagging.
I am not really sure exactly the reason why, these are just some hypothesis I have. And while I hold the notion that women comedians aren't funny, I am willing to give them a chance.