Positives and negatives: reclaiming the female body and self-deprecation in stand-up comedy

ABSTRACT

Drawing on existing research into feminist humour, this paper argues that many of the functions of self-deprecation within comic performance that have been identified and explored in relation to the American context of the late 90s and early 2000s are still evident on the current UK circuit. Self-deprecation in stand-up comedy by women continues to be understood as both positive (as part of the rise of popular feminisms) and negative (as reinforcing patriarchal norms). These contradictory understandings of self-deprecation in stand-up comedy are always inextricably linked to the identities of the audiences for such humour. I argue that instances of negative self-perception in relation to the female body are now more discernible due to the rise of popular and celebrity feminisms. I consider how emergent female stand-up performers may rationalise and understand the role self-deprecation plays within their own routines and discuss the work of stand-up comedian Luisa Omielan as an example of the rejection of self-deprecatory address. I make the argument that self-deprecation cannot function simply as positive or negative in the current UK context, but must always be considered (for both audiences and performers) as challenging and reinforcing restrictive patriarchal attitudes towards women simultaneously.

KEYWORDS:

• Stand-up comedy
• feminism
• post-feminism
• self-deprecation
• body-positivity
• popular performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Comedian Sophie Hagen provides a useful example of this. Her 2014 club set contained a description of overhearing others expressing revulsion at her body size. Initially these women thought their words would not be understood due to a language barrier (they assumed as they were in the UK that she could not speak Danish, which is in fact her first language). Even if this section is not based on a real-life experience (which is how the event is presented to the audience within the set) and only performed as such, it still highlights how regularly women whose bodies do not conform to mainstream ideals have their size policed by others they meet. Performance seen live at Group Therapy Comedy Club, Gorilla, Manchester 22/2/14.

2. The work of Jessica Ringrose (2011) in relation to the construction of female sexual identity in the digital age is relevant here.

3. See Audre Lorde's essay ‘Uses of Anger’ included in Sister Outside: Essays and Speeches (1984).

4. The 2014 State of Play: Comedy UK report (Mermiri, Rawcliffe and Rae 2014) comments on the high-profile success of Miranda Hart and Sarah Millican. However, all the data upon which the report is based has been collected via the Ticketmaster database, which facilitates ticket buying for large scale, often arena-based comedy events. Thus it fails to address the fact that women disproportionately exist in the low level shows that take place in pubs and smaller comedy clubs that would not be ticketed in this way (or indeed ticketed at all). The scarcity of women in this report, the use of a small pink female-shaped icons to highlight any instances of their inclusion, and the consistent use of the term comedienne, provide evidence that there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving equality, especially in relation to the business side of comedy.

5. Millican's dissatisfaction with women's magazines, especially the way in which they police body norms, was one of the factors that motivated her in 2014 to set up the online magazine Standard Issue. The magazine (which evolved away from written text into a podcast in 2017) was written and edited by women, a significant number of whom are comedians or comedy writers. http://standardissuemagazine.com (accessed 5/1/17).

6. For more information on Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Hysterical Woman see

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/apr/28/hysterical-woman-standup-sexism-in-comedy-kiri-pritchard-mclean (accessed 20/5/17).

7. All quotations from Kiri Pritchard-McLean originate in transcribed conversations from an in-person interview, Manchester 21/10/14.

8. The topic of gendered power dynamics within audiences was also considered as part of Daniel Kitson's 2017 show Something Other Than Everything. During the performance Kitson commented on how he dislikes seeing men place their arms around their female partners during his shows. Kitson articulated that he reads this as a gesture of possessiveness or ownership over the women. Thus it is clear that comedians are acutely aware of how gender politics may play out through body language during their shows, as well as the gendered threat they may present to some members of their audience. Performance seen live at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre 8/9/17.

9. All quotations from Dotty Winters originate in transcribed conversations from an in-person interview, Manchester 22/10/15.

10. Seen 9/8/2016 at Pleasance Courtyard Edinburgh. For further information see https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/08/tweet-taoiseach-periods-enda-kenny-abortion-law (accessed 20/5/17).

11. Seen 8/8/2016 at Pleasance Courtyard Edinburgh. For a review of the show see https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/83958-lolly-2/ (accessed 20/5/17).

12. Luisa Omielan's Melbourne Comedy festival performance can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2MskQOinwE (accessed 20/5/17).

13. What is particularly interesting is how Omielan's recent increase in profile has provided an excellent example of why women still need to reject meaning imposed by others. Omielan was approached to be one of the many presenters for the 2017 Comic Relief broadcast. She co-presented various links throughout the night, with the programme culminated in presenter Graham Norton interviewing a huge number of guests on an extra-long sofa as part of a world record attempt. Omielan was the last guest to take up a place on this sofa and due to time constraints each guest had only around a minute talking with the host. With Omielan Norton only talked about what she was wearing (she had changed outfit from earlier in the night) and spent the whole time telling her to cover herself up.

This exchange was subsequently reported in the reviews of the show in a similar ‘cover yourself up love’ tone, with Ally Ross writing the following for The Sun on 23/3/17:

‘It came to an ugly head during the Graham Norton chat show/celebrity circle jerk thing, which featured 33 famous people and someone called Luisa Omielan who felt the lash of the host's tongue for dressing like an Albanian stripper.’ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3192390/ally-ross-red-nose-day-fails-to-deliver-for-comic-relief/ (accessed 21/5/17)

Norton didn't use that particular description of Omielan's dress, even though he had focused solely on her appearance. This incident provides a fascinating example of how even when a comedian takes ownership of their sexuality and body, others are quick to control and denigrate them.

14. See here for just one of the discussions around the complexities of the pop icon Miley Cyrus. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/sep/10/miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball (accessed 11/1/17).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ellie Tomsett

Ellie Tomsett is a PhD candidate and associate lecturer with Sheffield Hallam University. Her research explores the live UK comedy circuit and how female voices are both integrated and marginalised within the current industry. Her research has involved working alongside the UK Women in Comedy Festival as a researcher in residence to capture qualitative information from promoters, performers and audiences. In 2017, Ellie co-founded Mixed Bill, a comedy and gender research network, with colleagues researching in related areas.