Why Women "Aren't Funny"

By Niya Bobban

Man or woman, relationship or friendship, TV show or movie, one thing is for certain; we all value a sense of humor in ourselves and others. Humor is the second language that can overcome any kind of cultural barrier; it has the ability to make awkward situations bearable, and turn everyday hassles into stories worth sharing. Humor reminds us that life doesn’t always have to be serious.

But what happens when humor is somehow tied into a discouraging stereotype? When it becomes a competition between two genders to fight for the best jokes? What happens when society is under the impression that women simply cannot be as funny as everyone else? And yet, when women do make people laugh, the conversation drifts away from their humor, and toward their appearance. The “comedy” (promoted by male-majority audiences) is fused into sexualization and misogyny; ultimately, they are faced with a double standard that men rarely face.

So why do women constantly receive the short end of the stick when tackling humor? For decades, the world of comedy and entertainment has been largely dominated by men, with women having fewer opportunities to challenge these boundaries. Despite our generation taking large steps toward gender equality, humor seems to be the one area where women continuously get sidelined or reduced into restricting roles.

Women in entertainment are expected to conform to strict standards of likeability and perceived femininity with an invisible limit to creative expression. Most comedies involve women focusing on tropes like the ditzy blonde, the nagging wife, or the awkward single woman. These portrayals not only suppress the potential of female comedians but also underline stereotypes that affect how society views women as a whole.

One of the largest comedy shows in America has unfortunately fell victim to these types of stereotypes, and their hackneyed portrayal of women have stayed stagnant for almost 4 decades. Saturday Night Live, or SNL, is a sketch comedy show known for its satirical takes on politics, culture, and pop culture.  However, over the years, many of SNL’s sketches featuring women have relied on hypersexualized narratives or overly simplistic female characters; SNL’s reliance on gendered tropes speaks to a larger issue within comedy.

The failure to break free from patriarchal norms that dictate who gets to be funny is what haunts women for their future careers, and this doesn’t just go for the comedy industries… It’s a shortcoming seen in most male-dominated industries. 

When we call women as a whole “unfunny,” it seems like a harmless joke that is pulled off by so many, yet it subconsciously becomes a norm for women who cannot seem to overcome these stereotypes. When women cannot even receive the label of being “funny,” we see that it goes a lot more in depth than simply comedic gestures; it is an ingrained mentality where even the simplest traits like humor cannot be given to women. 

Our lives would not be alright without humor… it would be all left! Maybe I am slightly promoting the stereotype…Humor should be the universal language that can be shared by all; it should not be a means to simply reduce women into narrow roles. It should allow them to have the ability to be themselves, because that is what humor truly strives for.