By Liz Miele, Contributing Writer
I often feel both special and sad being the only female comic on a show. I wonder did I get this because I’m good enough or to fill a quota? Why aren’t there more females on this show? And why do I always have to be introduced as a female comic? Won’t they see this when I get up there? “This next comic is a lady.” It almost sounds like a warning. Brace yourself. This could go horribly wrong. They don’t say, “This next comic is Asian.”
As a young, white, female comic, my experiences are different from those who started later in life or those who are ethnically diverse, but I think what many of my fellow female comics can agree on is that while in the city, it seems like there are more of us we still seem to be out numbered and often ignored.
I feel it’s different for guys. As long as you are funny, people will book you and pay attention to you to some degree, but as a woman people want to know what your niche is, what’s your thing. I don’t have a thing. I like to just think I’m a good writer and a funny comic, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. If I was trying to develop an original sitcom, then I could understand. I need to stand out; I need to go beyond entertainment. But why do I feel pushed to not be me in a form of entertainment that is suppose to let me be the epitome of me?
I often feel invisible and lost in a business that is so convoluted. There is no one-way to make it, no one-way to be discovered. You ask any comic that’s where you want to be, how they got there and they all say, “keep writing and keep getting onstage,” but just doing that isn’t all that easy. The writing I can do, but I feel like every week is a battle to get stage time.
Clubs rarely book more then one female on a show and unless you come highly recommended by someone they deem influential, you have to have TV credits to prove that you are legitimate. But then the same problem arises with TV shows only booking one or two females. Why can there only be one funny female a year? I do a lot of independent rooms but they usually book months in advance and many are selective to who they book by way of friendship and what you can do for the booker. And these are the honest people.
I’m tired of being cornered, harassed, and sometimes blackmailed to get stage time. Many guys may feel that females have an advantage. If the booker has a crush on you or likes looking at your tits, then you’ll get work. But they are only satisfied by the crush for so long. If you ignore their advances, deny their dinner invites or push them away, the spots are gone.
I just want to tell jokes but somehow that’s not enough. I have to do something for them and I won’t. I refuse to play a game where my comedy isn’t good enough. So unfortunately women are booked less than their male counterparts. They have fewer connections. There are a lot of women who have to deal with harassment, but then there is the flip side: If the booker isn’t attracted to you at all, you’re not even considered. So here you have a whole bunch of funny women being judged on things that aren’t even comedy related.
I was told about a booker once saying, “if female comics aren’t gonna blow you what’s the point of booking them?” I’ve been offered a spot and asked out to dinner within the same breath. How often do you think that happens to a guy? To not be seen as an artist, as a performer first is an insult.
Breaking into television helps get you more spots, but even that has its double standards. Most late night shows, as well as stand-up comedy shows are said to be consumed by 18-35 year old white males. So if bookers don’t believe your comedy reaches these men, then you’re shit out of luck.
They do not believe in elevating their tastes or trying something new. Shows have their audience and they need to meet their needs. But if they aren’t exposed to anything new, then they continue to believe the same stereotypes that woman aren’t funny, or that blacks and Latinos don’t have shared experiences and that they can’t relate to their comedy.
How often do you see a woman or a minority perform on late night talk shows? Comedy Central said Chappelle’s Show got them their first black viewership. Until they started putting on programs that black people liked or could relate to they don’t make up a huge part of their viewers. So if networks want to expand they need to expand who they book.
I’m glad Sarah Silverman and Lisa Lampanelli are getting work, but I do believe that if we only book women that play to mens’ crude tastes of what’s funny, then many women won’t move past the beginning levels. I don’t want to be seen as one of the guys. I want to be seen as one of the comics.
There are so many different senses of humor. Why do we limit it to what guys think is funny? I love Dave Attell just as much as the next comic, but to believe the guys who enjoy his jokes are gonna enjoy mine is foolish. But at the same time, I don’t want to compromise myself to fit their idea of funny, but I often feel when looking for funny females that’s what bookers want because his brand of humor is already proven to sell.
Are there exceptions? Of course. My favorite comic is Wanda Sykes. Whether you enjoy her comedy or not, you must admit to be a black woman in this business, you not only have to be as funny as she, but you have to have a drive and belief in yourself far stronger then others. I feel stuck a lot in this business but I know so many funny, hard working women that give female comedy such a good name that I’m not too worried what the uninformed say. Comedy has so many voices and so many different views, we just have make them look our way.
