In the three articles you read, each one presents some version of consciousness-changing power of feminist humor. The Willetts argue in “Fumerism,” that feminist humor, at its best offers a change in perspective. It is not women v. men, or anyone against anyone. It is not based on any kind of superiority over. One way they say this is, “The joy of fumerist comedy is not in having one’s preconceived identity and views confirmed, but in being startled out of one’s customary alignments toward a more promising future,” 35. In their Conclusion, they write that Hannah Gadsby offers a “new formula in which anger plus catharsis plus empathy defines the kind of comedy that speaks truth.” In “Train wreck,” Tully writes about her ‘train wreck’ comics that they, “expose the contradictions and impossible standards at the heart of post-feminist culture and demonstrate the damaging and maddening effects they have on women.” She makes the point that when they break the rules of normative femininity, they expose precisely what “the rules” are.” All of these articles point to the power of feminist humor to shift our thinking. All of the articles work on the premise that feminist humor can be transformative. That is, the humor that is discussed here is seen as potentially changing consciousness. It is not about jokes told for their own sake for light entertainment, or even to engage in a “battle of the sexes.” It is humor that shits perspective. Read with this in mind.
Watch: Two of the following three shows. Or all of them, but at least two. Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, Ali Wong, Baby Cobra, Wanda Sykes, Not Normal, all found on Netflix. Wanda Sykes’ show, I’ma Be Me is not on Netflix anymore, but free to stream. Google it, if you would like to watch that one.
Use any two of these articles to analyze any one of the performances. You can argue anything you want in relation to these basic arguments. Does the performance somehow undercut or subvert misogyny or male dominance through irony, parody, or another comic strategy? Does it undercut assumptions about gender that we tend to live in? Does it help you see something in a slightly different way? Does it invite you in so that you can hear it? Or does it not do those things? Or is it a mix? Your essay will make the nuanced argument using the two written sources you choose, and the one performance you analyze.
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