Caleb Parsons
In Cynthia and Julia Willett's chapter "The Seriously Erotic Politics of Laughter: Bitches, Whores, and Other Fumerists,"the topic of feminist humor is at the forefront. For Cynthia and Julia, humor serves as a better outlet for "moral suasion" than fact or argument. Humor's power lies in its ability to make subjects recognize intersubjectivity. This recognition connects consciousness beyond identity politics. Cynthia and Julia's chapter focuses on humor's ability to reconfigure notions of motherhood and sexuality. Two realms that have historically suffered under male-dominated representation. The erotic force of feminist humor, or "fumerism," enable this medium to free women from the oppression of societal norms. Janet Halley elaborates on her concept of "governance feminism," which takes into consideration pleasure in female humor. Much of fumerism relies upon the shock value of the "obscene." While the female comedians humor may appear to be "obscene" from the outisde (male) perspective, it really just flips male comedy on its head. So much of male comedy focuses not the female body and body parts as a source of ridicule and entertainment. Fumerism subverts this system by doing the same thing, yet doing so in a way that leaves the women empowered rather than objectified. Subjects such as menstruation, abortion, and female genitalia become topics in female humor. This in effect turns men's comedy "inside out."
Caleb,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your understanding of the Willetts' piece. I also wrote about the positive way humor empowers women by freeing them from the normal conversations deemed appropriate social norms. However, what we wrote about from Ch. 1 seems to be in direct contrast from Ch.2, "Black Female Crossover Comedy." In Ch.2, Naomi Zack seems to argue that by communicating in a space outside social norms, gender/race humor can be quite damaging and oppressive. Minstrelsy, which is one way of breaking away from social norms with radical speech and humor, provides both grounds for empowerment and grounds for oppression. Do you think one could agree with the Willetts and Zack at the same time, or is this an issue where readers have to take sides?
I really agree with what you took away from this chapter. I think the type of humor that the Willetts identified as "fumerism" was mostly satirical and used subvert the oppressive content in most male humorist's skits. A really great "fumerist" that I admire is Jessica Williams. She is an anchor on the Daily Show who addresses feminist issues with clever and over-the-top retorts. In one bit for the show, she addresses the issue of catcalling by first acknowledging the extent to which women experience catcalling on a daily basis, and then suggests women go extremely out of their way on daily routes to avoid it. This skit falls in line with the Wanda Sykes bit on "detachable pussies" because it acknowledges the bleak fact that women have very little options when confronting serious issues that affect them.
ReplyDeleteJessica Williams skit
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4sgHJh3eKk
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kctqIuMrYy4