Andrea Gamboa
"Not holding in your anger is what feminist comedy does best. You may be a victim, but you will have your revenge, and a clever one at that" (21).
In Cynthia and Julia Willett's chapter, The Seriously Erotic Politics of Laughter, the two authors analyze what characterizes feminist humor. In particular, the authors focus on how humor can be used a tool to fight back against oppression. In a passage describing Tina Fey's ostensibly "immodest" sense of humor, the authors also noted how feminist humor tends to subvert the traditional ideas of who the victim and the oppressors are. Using satirical rhetoric, feminist humorists, or "fumerists," warp and exaggerate the reality of living in the patriarchy in order to magnify the importance of feminist issues. For example, Kristen Schaal's bit on the Daily Show satirized "money rape" as a faux-consequence of providing abortions for rape survivors and in turn made advocates against abortions seem frivolous, illogical, and even cruel.
I really enjoyed reading this piece because I agree that feminist humorists are often ignored and erased. This erasure is due in part to the culturally-ingrained idea that women are not "naturally funny." Being a woman who spends time with considerably humorous women, I do not understand the roots of this idea. I suppose that this idea originated because traditional views of femininity place little value on a woman's personality and experiences, two things critical for being a good humorist.
Feminist humor certain fights oppression, and pushes back against traditional notions of women and comedy. Tina Fey exemplifies this relationship remarkably well. Fey uses humor as a means to redirect and reverse the discourse around women in comedy by engaging in her own "immodest" form of humor. This humor as you say can "warp and exaggerate" the patriarchal codes that impede women from fully expressing themselves. I appreciate your ability to draw attention to feminist comedians who are largely ignored in society. It is disappointing how women are portrayed as not being funny, considering there are countless hilarious women throughout history.
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