"Groucho's Girls?" You Bet Your Life!
It's a long-held belief by numerous men (Jerry Lewis and Christopher Hitchens come immediately to mind), and even some females, that "women aren't funny." For decades, though, one would be hard pressed to name a female comic other than Phyllis Diller or Joan Rivers, and since the 1980s, Roseanne. There were a handful of others, but they were often considered cabaret performers (they sang as well as did jokes). Yet even today, when you look at the ads for a majority of comedy clubs, including the best-known ones, for every 10 or 20 men listed, you may find one woman on the roster of upcoming shows. In the Psychology Today's article "Groucho's Girls," this dearth has less to do with whether women can be "funny" as it does with the overall nature of the business and our own attitudes towards women. It is irrefutable that women are on the rise in comedy, but is it because they are behaving more like men on stage or feeling more free to be themselves unfettered by society's expectations? In just the past 10-15 years, we've seen the likes of Sarah Silverman, Lisa Lampanelli, Chelsea Handler, Ellen Degeneres, and more achieve headliner and star status. Read about how and why women are succeeding here.
Ellin, Abby. "Groucho's girls: today's stand-up comediennes are fast, funny, and leave no taboo untouched. Just whose problem is that?" Psychology Today May-June 2014: 64+. Popular Magazines. Web. 16 May 2016.
