Comments on: Why Are People Who Argue Women Aren’t Funny Not Funny?

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:50:32 +0000

Um. If women aren't publicly funny, on a stage, they can't be being funny elsewhere? Moronic. I know loads of clever, quick-witted, hilarious women. They don't do comedy tours. And they also don't all resort to the lame-ass, generic, juvenile humor that too many men embrace with glee. The problem is that men still define so much of societal perception, including what constitutes humor.

By: Lissette

Lissette — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:04:09 +0000

Hey Mr. Pablo, lighten up, dude - Ms. Hess' post was obviously written tongue-in-cheek and wasn't meant to piss off people. I agree with missdk's point that humor is VERY subjective - I may think Monty Python is funny as all get out, or that The State was hilarious, but I'm sure there are tons of people out there who don't get that type of humor. A lot of what people consider funny is based on their life experiences, the country their from, their age, their education, etc. The fact that Hitchens misses this point just goes to show how flawed his argument is. It's strange that some people think that the idea that women aren't funny is a valid point based in reality. Maybe the people who say this have never had female friends or relatives with personalities, or are straight men who like pursuing vapid chicks. Weird.

By: DirkJohanson

DirkJohanson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:39:16 +0000

Guys, in general, are funny, but there are plenty of funny women: Sarah Silverman, Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho, the list goes on.

I know there are plenty of funny women because I'm fucking funny, as you can see yourself by double-clicking on my name and thereby being routed to my defiantly chauvinistic blog.

PS I know what you are thinking - this comment isn't funny.

By: Pablo

Pablo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:01:12 +0000

Unbelievable. Leave it to a chick to compare apples to oranges. Author, this article is about as much a thesis as "super high me" is a valid study. "Why Are People Who Argue Women Aren’t Funny Not Funny?" is like asking how critics can be critics. How do you know how many comedians think that women aren't funny? Exactly, you don't. The fact is most women in America have a big ass chip on their shoulder, penis envy and proclaim constantly that they can do anything a man can do. But that doesn't stop them from asking men to lift heavy objects, pay vaginamony, and constantly beg men to marry them to get their hands in their wallets, and yet still have the gall to say that they are "independent". But, I digress. How many standup comedy tours have been headlined by a woman and been smash hits? How many comedy shows have been headlined by a female that have been successful? The fact is that women aren't funny in general, and we don't know how many "funny" people think women are unfunny and just don't say so. But, of course as a female lacking the logic gene, you respond only out of emotion and sidetrack the entire issue. Ipso facto, Q.E.D. you're "argument" holds no weight.

By: Dean

Dean — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:52:20 +0000

Women aren't as funny as men because they have less incentive to become funny. I know a lot of guys who would be single their whole lives if they couldn't make women laugh. It isn't that women aren't funny, they just don't need it as much as men do. There are some very funny women around like Tina Fey and Cathy Griffith. Plus men use humour to bond with one another and it doesn't seem that women do to the same degree.

By: billy

billy — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:45:08 +0000

missdk, guys will lie to you. regardless of just in for a quick lay or married for life, they will lie because they have to. it is in our best interest to keep you happy and feeling good about yourself as best we can, because god knows soon enough you will blow something trivial out of proportion. call this sexist, guys know this is true, even if they tell you other wise. and reciting a lame joke that many have already heard does not make you funny. funny is spontaneously thinking of something humourous to say in a given situation. and this is a situation you are blowing out of proportion. especially fatima and karen. comparing the guy to hitler? lacks originality and fairly offensive to what the jews endured. and biting off a man's dick? really? that's the best you can do? you can't refute what he says with words? you must physically attack the man? there are women who are outliers that are legitimately funny. but in all honesty, its the same as female athletes; they are held to a different, lower standard. many receive recognition for their beauty and their humor is secondary. same with ben affleck's or matthew mcconaunoghey's acting ability. why the hell does everyone have to pretend that both men and women are exactly the same in all catagories? we aren't, and that shouldn't be offensive to anybody. appreciate others abilities and focus on your own. i'll never play guitar like hendrix, but that does not stop me from appreciating his talent. and i'll never suck dick like jenna jameson, but guess what? missdk, seriously, he is lying to you.

By: missdk

missdk — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:41:28 +0000

"Funny" is completely arbitrary so any argument about female funny-ness is invalid. Think about all the funny people you know, the people that make you laugh, that bring joy and humor in your life, do they all fit the Adam Sandler norm of funny? No. Are they all the same kind of funny? No.

And besides that, and the million other fallacies and purposeful ignorance this involves, my boyfriend says I'm the funniest little creature he's ever met, so go sit on a coke bottle, Hitchens.

By: Sexist Comment of the Week - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Sexist Comment of the Week - The Sexist - Washington City Paper — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:26:38 +0000

[...] Fatimah, on “Why Are People Who Argue That Women Aren’t Funny Not Funny?” comes this gem: “I want to suck [Christopher] Hitchens’ slimy, fat, bigot cock, then [...]

By: sock puppet

sock puppet — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:01:31 +0000

so, junk punching has become junk munching

By: Our Morning Roundup: Wingnuts and Their Teabags - City Desk - Washington City Paper

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:03:18 +0000

[...] Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to an especially balmy installment of Freedom Friday! Y’all were very active in the comments this week: vinyl collectors went batshit over Steve Kolowich’s hipter/iTunes post, nerds saw an opportunity to sass me from behind the firewall, concerned WaPo readers balked at the sexual homogeneity of Metro’s lineup of columnitsts, and OH MY GOD someone over at the Sexist threatened to bite Christopher Hitchens’ dick off. [...]

By: Chad Riden

Chad Riden — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:39:35 +0000

Maria Bamford (who, in my opinion, is funnier than anybody - male or female) got so sick of hearing people say, "There aren’t that many funny women," she created a page on her site where she has a list of funny ladies: http://mariabamford.com/funnywomen.shtml

By: Amanda Hess

Amanda Hess — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:56:47 +0000

fine delivery, but derivative material doesn't count!

By: mdesus

mdesus — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:54:31 +0000

A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!" The panda yells back at the bartender, "Hey, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!" The bartender opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda: "A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian orgin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.

By: Amanda Hess

Amanda Hess — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:21:27 +0000

Mdesus: Now all you have to do to prove my thesis wrong is prove that YOU are funny.

By: mdesus

mdesus — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:19:24 +0000

I do not have a single girl in my life (at any stage) who I found consistantly funny in person. I know one writer I find funny, and one girl who does like physical comedy that is somewhat painful to watch but is funny. Otherwise in my sample group I've got no one.

By: Fatimah

Fatimah — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:15:06 +0000

I want to suck Hitchens' slimy, fat, bigot cock, then bite it off and feed it to a mangy dog.

By: Amanda Hess

Amanda Hess — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:06:07 +0000

Eww, lady!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:30:36 +0000

We get it. You want to bone Herr Christoph Hitler. Enough already.

By: Amanda Hess

Amanda Hess — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:25:48 +0000

Yes. But most of the unfunny people arguing that women aren't funny allow for some outliers---a few women are funny, but most women are not funny. Similarly, a few people who argue that women aren't funny (in my opinion, Christopher Hitchens) are funny, but most are not funny.

By: TomHandy

TomHandy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:22:02 +0000

Doesn't Tina Fey kind of shoot a big gaping hole in this argument?