LGBTQ+ Women in Comedy: Is it a good place?

 

Comedy as A Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Women

 

            For my project I wrote a paper examining whether or not comedy is used as a safe place for women who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. I referred back to authors we’ve discussed during class, and even included a few female comedians we hadn’t discussed that I absolutely adore.

            My argument included the question(s), if and why women in the LGBTQ+ community used comedic expression, and if not, why? After conducting research and finding many, many sources, I found that my thesis statement had been supported. Out of the three female comedians I chose to include in my project, it was found that all three used humility as a form of expression, but in different ways. For example, Hannah Gadsby believed comedy wasn’t a safe place for her to express herself because of her own experience being revolved vastly around self-deprecation. Ellen DeGeneres and Lea DeLaria both projected themselves as being fond of using humor as a safe space. DeGeneres did similarly use self-deprecation but approached it differently with affiliative humor, her reactions to situations of adversity were much different. For example she spoke on the topic of her coming-out and when doing this she implemented a scenario that everyone would enjoy/relate too, then finished the conversation expressing the seriousness in what occurred to her, and others who may have experienced similar things. DeLaria approached her comedy in a more relaxed, confrontational tone and used and she is more comfortable with her comedy. She uses a more self-enhancing approach to her comedy and refuses to let anyone make her feel the adversity that's placed on her as a butch woman.

            This project is important because we often don’t think about the thing’s comedians endure to create messages for their audiences. These things include incidents such as trauma, adversity, rejection, etc. The messages these LGBTQ+ women give are all similar, but different because it shows us everyone has a story of their own and to cope with what occurs, they resort to various forms of expression and for some, it may not always work.

            My most favorite part about doing this project was researching and watching videos and specials on these wonderful women, learning more about their stories and how they express themselves. Humility is something we all partake in everyday and it could be to cope with stress, make others laugh to make their day better, etc. and I thought doing this research was pretty fun to do. Humor may not always be a good place for everyone to reside to share their stories, but there is always a powerful message that comes across the stories being told. Using these three women in my project I thought really shined a light on comedy and how people from different backgrounds, or even those who identify under the same groups and communities share their stories differently in comedy. All of these women have powerful voices they continue sharing, and I believe that is absolutely beautiful in its own way. Having powerful voices like theirs encourage others, including myself to share the stories we live through different forms of expression whether it be comedy, writing, contemporary art, etc.