9 Reasons Women Are Funnier Than Men
By Anna Breslaw
1. Historical oppression, w00t.
In other words, the reason that black, Latino, Jewish and LGBT people have a rich history in comedy. Oppression's not funny, but we've learned to find humor in the worst situations - and it's a more sophisticated kind, the sort of jokes that sting a little. (See Sarah Silverman's joke: "I was raped by a doctor... which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.")
2. Our grossness is funnier.
Sure, men are the stereotypically "gross" ones with their pizza box-strewn bachelor pads and dirty bathrooms. But female grossness is an often-overlooked gold mine of comedy. Three A.M. drunk burrito eating while you're still in your body-con going out dress? Hilarious. Running out of tampons and toilet paper and using the toilet paper roll wrapper as a makeshift pad? Slaying me. Oh, you've never done that? Yeah, I've totally also never done that and gotten a rash.
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3. We're underestimated when it comes to LOLs.
The common mentality goes, women are attracted to funny men, and men are attracted to women who laugh at their jokes. Your average single woman, when preparing for a date, is taught to go to the Girlfriend-Making Factory blow-dry bar, wear something sexy-but-not-slutty, and laugh at everything the guy says.Hell, guys actually give us the upper hand by assuming we're not going to have a sense of humor.
4. And the idea of "female comedy" is underestimated, in general.
These days, the generic idea of what makes a woman funny is twofold: The old-timey "ya know what I'm talking about, ladies?!"-style punchlines, and the on-purpose filthy-mouthed cute girl. Not only are there interesting variations on those two categories (Tina Fey redoing Cathy schtick with an edge, the pointed satire of Sarah Silverman) but there are approximately a zillion other ways that women can be - and are, quite often - funny.
5. We have to work twice as hard to be considered funny.
Everybody who's trying to make a career out of being funny has something to prove as soon as they step onstage or begin that funny listicle or whatever. But women are snap-judged as "girls trying to be funny" from the get-go. (As Adam Carolla infamously told the New York Post, "They make you hire a certain number of chicks, and they're always the least funny on the writing staff.")
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6. Women are more socially perceptive.
Someone like Kristen Wiig has obviously benefited from her sharp social observations of certain women (see: Penelope, the compulsive one-upper), and comedy based in truth = the best kind.
7. We don't feel entitled to laughs.
If you take in a lot of standup, the chances are good that you've seen a lot of straight white dudes go up to the stage, do some impromptu, lazy Family Guy-esque riffs, and bomb. That is because straight white dudes have had gorgeous women fake-laughing at their unfiltered, unrehearsed "jokes" for their entire lives. Women, on the other hand, are basically socialized to be insecure perfectionists. Does it suck? Yeah. But does it mean funny women have an arsenal of well-sharpened, on-point jokes to pull out whenever they're needed? Sure does.
8. Periods.
The sparkly pink Comic Sans How To Be A Girl For Dummies And Also This Is What Sex Is books our moms left on our beds when we were twelve. The fact that we drop eggs once a month like weird aliens. Occasionally freaking the heck out until we pee on a stick. All of the above = ROFL fodder.
9. Gilda Radner
And other women it would be reductive to name, except to say that they're frequently brought up as "exceptions" to the rule, which is moronic, considering there are hundreds of them. K thanks.
Obvious disclaimer: You can be funny if you're a man or a woman or a tree stump or a copy of the Olsen twins' How The West Was Fun. This is just for the sake of argument.
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