The crux of comediennes

When you think of leading British comedians, who do you think of? You start to think of Stephen Fry, Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Ricky Gervais. Easy to continue. Few would start with Jo Brand and continue with a woman. Arguments like “women are not funny” and “I just find men funnier” are still not dead. But when asked why, people struggle to give reasons.

The recent British Comedy Awards show a picture of a comedy industry in the UK that is mainly male dominated. Yes, Julia Davies won two prizes for her sitcom Hunderby and Morgana Robinson can now call herself Best Comedy Breakthrough Artist. But the other seven categories that are not split up between male and female tell us that comedy in the UK is still in the hands of men.

2012 seemed to be a female television year, with several women-centred sitcoms written by women. New Girl, Hunderby and the highly celebrated New York-based series Girls. The fact that Hunderby won two British Comedy Awards (Best New Comedy Programme and Best Sitcom) shows that there is recognition of these programmes, while the American shows New Girl and Girls were acknowledged in the U.S. at the Emmys. And do not forget the hype about a third series of Miranda. You might think that women in TV comedy now get more attention. But a shift from a male-dominated industry towards a balanced one is not really there – yet. The media attention surrounding Girls and Miranda was enormous. But looking behind the hype, they are just a few between hundreds of other, male-centred series. As comedian and comedy writer Eva Braden* says, “these sitcoms stand out, but most series are still produced and written by men”. Cariad Lloyd, a comedienne who started her career in acting before comedy “took over her life”, agrees and says about the British Comedy Awards: “It’s a shame that there weren’t more women nominated. At the moment there are less women in comedy than men; that will be reflected in nominations and awards.”

One explanation as to why there are not as many comediennes as comedians can be found in the history of comedy. The beginnings of live comedy in the UK were in music halls of the 18^th century. Stand-up and sketch comedy are still young theatre art forms in relation to others such as variety or drama. The first UK sitcom, Pinwright’s Progress, aired on BBC radio in the late 1940s. Back then, politics, business and public life were driven by men. After World War Two, with TV establishing itself as a mass medium, comedy was also produced for the screen and famous live comedians like Peter Sellers and Tommy Cooper could also be seen on TV. In the 1970s, alternative comedy circuits had formed in working men’s clubs. Women were rare in these clubs. An exception was Victoria Wood, who started there. When asked in a recent Telegraph interview if it was not a “golden age” in the eighties for comedy, she disagreed and said that it is easier for women in comedy now than it was 30 years ago because the number of possible venues has increased. But she added that there are still more men in the comedy industry than women.

Over the past years, the impact of women in comedy has increased. Female stand-up comedians are booked more often and panel shows like Have I got News for You or 8 out of 10 Cats invite more comediennes. The beginnings of a comedy scene that included female comedians began later than for men. In order to give women in the industry more chances, the Funny Women Awards were set up ten years ago. The organisation Funny Women, which also organises workshops and comedy nights in Brighton and London, gives out awards in categories from scriptwriting to stand-up. Isobel Matheson, who is an executive producer and responsible for the awards at Funny Women, says that “the comedy world is definitely changing and the future looks certainly more rosy for female performers, but I’m still tired of going to comedy nights and watching TV panel shows with one woman in the line-up”. Watching these shows does often give the impression that producers book a statutory woman and are content with that. It seems that they fulfil a duty that has to be done because we are living in a modern society and should also represent disadvantaged ‘minorities’ like women. On comedy nights, women are often second in the second half, which means they are the penultimate act. Whether the comedienne is good or bad, she is often booked for that position. It is unfair for the comedienne and also for the other comedians. They get booked for that timeslot not because of their talent, but because it looks nicer to have a woman in that position. It shows that women have to face challenges in comedy. But it also gives an answer as to why people often cannot explain why they do not like female comedians: they do not know enough of them.

Matheson is certain that women still need support, whereas comedian Braden says that there is no need for that. Although Braden took part in one competition organised by Funny Women a few years ago, she questions its relevance. “It’s like the Special Olympics, women don’t need positive discrimination”. Most young comediennes take part in competitions to be on as many stages as they can. It is not that there is a huge lack of women in performing comedy. Rather, they have to work harder than men to be seen and recognised. And that is why a lot of comediennes are not easily accessible for the public eye. People tend to generalise. If you have only once seen a woman performing comedy, you make your opinion out of that.

Women start their artistic career later than men. Many start in their mid-twenties, whereas it is not unusual for men to start in their early twenties. Female comedians have to face challenges that every woman who wants to have a family and a career has to face. The pressure of starting a family and combining that with a social timetable is hard. A lot of women end their comedy career in their mid-thirties. “Women start later and finish earlier. If you haven’t made it by your mid-thirties, you stop. You don’t have a social life, no settling down, no stability. Women suffer more”, says Braden, who is 32 and, in addition to doing comedy, works as a personal assistant. She adds that the reason why women start later is down to establishing enough self-confidence to perform comedy on stage. This is also one reason why women often choose to do character-based comedy rather than stand-up.

But arguing that these differences are because of gender is too easy and not right. Comedians Braden and Lloyd, who are both confronted with prejudices in their comedy career, highlight that there is more of a difference between every comedian rather than a general difference between the genders. “I honestly don't think you can separate comedians through gender, just as it would be hard to separate actors, scientists or teachers on their gender rather than their skills“, says Lloyd. There is also a difference between character comedy and stand-up, adds Lloyd: “It’s the perception that is different. I do character comedy, which is seen as quite like acting monologues, and I think people don't mind a woman doing that. But straight stand-up, in the traditional male stereotype, I think is harder for women“. Braden says that in comedy the audience is assumed to be male, even if there are just as many women present. The audience makes a comedy night on stage or on TV successful. It is more about how the audience perceives the comedian and this is more a socio-cultural phenomenon than the sheer difference between male and female comedy, which does not exist anyway.

“Good comedy is good comedy”, says Matheson. To laugh or not to laugh. That is what it is all about. Gender does play a role – but in the same way as age or geographical background does. Comedy is political. Not only the jokes but the industry itself reflect changes in society, economy and social movements. The “women in comedy” issue is more a topic that has its roots in society itself and is due to an interplay between many factors. We can see that from the history and the way comedy is today. The British Comedy Awards show a true picture of the industry. The comedy industry today is still not balanced between men and women, but better than yesterday and still not as good as tomorrow.

Matheson, Lloyd and Braden look positively to the future. There are problems for women, but the roots do not lie in the industry only. Women need to be more present. Hopefully, people will then start to argue: “I don’t like Joanna Lumley because of her way of talking, annoying like McIntyre. But I do like…”



*name changed