Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Funny women?

12467…10

Comments

  • #92
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 13,701 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    I saw someone called Roisin Conaty on Live at the Apollo last night and she was actually pretty good. But I think the whole standup thing is a big dick swinging contest for men, and women's humour doesn't fit into that kind of thing most of the time. I know some very funny women, but I don't think they could turn it into a stage act.


  • #93
    sabat
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,896 ✭✭✭sabat


    Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »
    Alison Spittle is doing great things at the moment. Up there with some of the great comedians of our time.

    Great meaning large or immense-do you mean it in the pejorative sense?


  • #94
    unhappys10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 692 ✭✭✭unhappys10


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    I saw someone called Roisin Conaty on Live at the Apollo last night and she was actually pretty good. But I think the whole standup thing is a big dick swinging contest for men, and women's humour doesn't fit into that kind of thing most of the time. I know some very funny women, but I don't think they could turn it into a stage act.

    Yes same here, there are obviously funny women, I know a few but as for turning it into an act, not seen a funny one yet. The poster above saying we're tarring half the world's population (which we didn't), I was talking about comedians who try to make a living from it.
    Not many really funny male comedians either. Love Larry David though, Curb is fantastic.


  • #95
    gormdubhgorm
    Registered Users Posts: 18,199 ✭✭✭✭gormdubhgorm


    jimgoose wrote: »
    Sindhu Vee is hilarious, as are Sarah Millican and Victoria Wood.

    And as for Joan Rivers... :pac::pac::pac:
    ShedTower wrote: »
    Our own Aisling Bea is funny.

    Jayus heard Millican and Wood before just making middle aged women comments - with no joke or funny bit.

    Aisling Bea is definitely funny, good wit thinks on her feet, plenty of energy.

    Guff about stuff, and stuff about guff.



  • #96
    gormdubhgorm
    Registered Users Posts: 18,199 ✭✭✭✭gormdubhgorm


    KiKi III wrote: »
    When men find a male comedian unfunny, they tend to say “that comedian was crap”.

    When men find a female comedian unfunny, they tend to say “female comedians are crap”.

    Women are held to a different standard when it comes to topics. We talk about our periods and it’s like “ewww no one needs to hear that”, but I’ve heard multiple comics talk about their first ejaculation.

    Many male comics have tons of bawdy material from experiences with threesomes to anal sex to being with prostitutes and that’s all regarded as normal, but female comics talking “too much” about sex is considered crass and being provocative for cheap laughs.

    It’s possible many men don’t find women funny because they simply don’t relate to their life experiences.

    I don’t like the comedians my dad likes because they strike me as a lot of men on the wrong side of middle age giving out that things aren’t how they used to be with not enough punchlines. But maybe my dad’s view of the world is more similar to theirs so he finds them funny.

    I saw Deirdre O’Kane testing material at a small gig just before lockdown. It was a Monday night in a pub, the crowd was mostly young and childless. Her material was about being a woman in her 50s, being a mother, and it didn’t get a lot of laughs. I thought the material was quite good, she was just playing to a young audience that didn’t share her life experiences and as such didn’t get it. I found myself thinking “my mam would really enjoy this”.

    Just because you don’t relate to something and don’t personally enjoy it doesn’t mean it’s not funny.

    Funny female comedians: Katherine Ryan (watch her stand up on the musical Hamilton, or the differences between being a single mum and dad), Jen Kirkman, Chelsea Peretti (her bit of her last special on periods is brilliant), here in Ireland I think Emma Doran is very good on the club scene.

    The woman who created/writes Derry Girls is obviously funny as fück and very talented.

    I’m sure there’s more, I’ll have a think.

    Good point on the relatability. But successful male comedians can seem to talk in broader sense (not all but most) Billy Connolly, Kevin Bridges for example. Most female comedians always seem to have a much narrower sense.

    Guff about stuff, and stuff about guff.



  • Advertisement
  • #97
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    unhappys10 wrote: »
    Yes same here, there are obviously funny women, I know a few but as for turning it into an act, not seen a funny one yet. The poster above saying we're tarring half the world's population (which we didn't), I was talking about comedians who try to make a living from it.
    Not many really funny male comedians either. Love Larry David though, Curb is fantastic.

    I specifically said I wasn't directing my comment at you. But 'women aren't funny' gets bandied around a lot. Did we even need another thread on this??

    Here's a few threads that already exist:

    'Worst Female Comedian'

    'Is there such a thing as a funny female comedian'

    'Are female comedians funny??'

    'Why aren't many female comedians funny?'

    'Have you ever known a female that was genuinely funny?'

    'The 'Women aren't funny' myth'

    'Comediennes....Just Not Funny'


  • #98
    unhappys10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 692 ✭✭✭unhappys10


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    I specifically said I wasn't directing my comment at you. But 'women aren't funny' gets bandied around a lot. Did we even need another thread on this??

    Here's a few threads that already exist:

    'Worst Female Comedian'

    'Is there such a thing as a funny female comedian'

    'Are female comedians funny??'

    'Why aren't many female comedians funny?'

    'Have you ever known a female that was genuinely funny?'

    'The 'Women aren't funny' myth'

    'Comediennes....Just Not Funny'

    The more the merrier


  • #99
    EmmetSpiceland
    Registered Users Posts: 10,521 ✭✭✭✭EmmetSpiceland


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    I specifically said I wasn't directing my comment at you. But 'women aren't funny' gets bandied around a lot. Did we even need another thread on this??

    Here's a few threads that already exist:

    'Worst Female Comedian'

    'Is there such a thing as a funny female comedian'

    'Are female comedians funny??'

    'Why aren't many female comedians funny?'

    'Have you ever known a female that was genuinely funny?'

    'The 'Women aren't funny' myth'

    'Comediennes....Just Not Funny'

    There are a lot of angry, unfunny, men on this site with a dire need to “vent” all their, pent up, rage as they have no outlet to do so in real life.

    Sad really. And sad lads.

    The tide is turning…



  • #100
    randd1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,779 ✭✭✭randd1


    I've come to like Aisling Bea as a comedian.

    Mostly because she actually doesn't seem to care about what people think of her and just makes what jokes she wants to. As a comedian should. Joan Rivers was the same, and there's a few others out there that are quite funny.

    Most of them though you'd happily drown in a bucket of piss.


  • #101
    KiKi III
    Registered Users Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭KiKi III


    gormdubhgorm wrote: »
    Good point on the relatability. But successful male comedians can seem to talk in broader sense (not all but most) Billy Connolly, Kevin Bridges for example. Most female comedians always seem to have a much narrower sense.

    That’s possible. It’s also possible, and I believe likely that women are so used to male comedians talking about their life experiences that it’s become normalised. We can laugh at experiences we can’t relate to, like going bald or getting a kick in the balls, or being a dad... whereas in my experience men just tune out if a female comic is talking about an experience they can’t relate to.

    Billy Connolly is a classic example of a stellar comedian who my dad loves... I can recognise that he’s talented and has a huge audience while also saying I would never voluntarily watch his stuff.


  • Advertisement
  • #102
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 19,906 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    I specifically said I wasn't directing my comment at you. But 'women aren't funny' gets bandied around a lot. Did we even need another thread on this??

    Here's a few threads that already exist:

    'Worst Female Comedian'

    'Is there such a thing as a funny female comedian'

    'Are female comedians funny??'

    'Why aren't many female comedians funny?'

    'Have you ever known a female that was genuinely funny?'

    'The 'Women aren't funny' myth'

    'Comediennes....Just Not Funny'



    There's always room for one more. For all the lads who just can't figure out why they've never (even once) laughed at a female comedian. And then they can come to the conclusion, yet again, that the wimim just aren't funny.

    There's a bit in Yes Prime Minister where Sir Humphrey defends his misogyny by saying that he loved women "very fine people, women. Eh...my wife, in fact, is a woman".

    I think most stand-ups are grand. Only OK. 10 mins would be enough of most of them. The notion of dividing them into men vs women for the sake of a gender wars thread is surprisingly popular, as the poster above showed with lots of threads for that exact purpose.


  • #103
    c.p.w.g.w
    Registered Users Posts: 4,994 ✭✭✭c.p.w.g.w


    Sarah Pascoe is actually funny when she keeps the judgy vegan & feminist stuff to a minimum...

    Sarah Milligan is good, just simply working class observational humour


  • #104
    KiKi III
    Registered Users Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭KiKi III


    I could be given the best sushi in the world, prepared with the finest ingredients by a Michelin star chef, and I wouldn’t enjoy it because I don’t like sushi.

    People need to learn the difference between not liking sushi and sushi being bad.


  • #105
    Tacitus Kilgore
    Registered Users Posts: 2,128 ✭✭✭Tacitus Kilgore


    c.p.w.g.w wrote: »
    Sarah Pascoe is actually funny when she keeps the judgy vegan & feminist stuff to a minimum...

    Sarah Milligan is good, just simply working class observational humour


    does that stuff make her not funny, or does it just annoy you?


  • #106
    Earthhorse
    Registered Users Posts: 14,715 ✭✭✭✭Earthhorse


    true-or-false wrote: »
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjkByyMrB3Y

    She's so funny in this interview - John Malkovich has to wipe his eyes at one point.

    This video kept appearing in my YouTube recommendations recently till the point where I caved and watched (literally this week). She's definitely charming and quick (she puts Ross in his place quick enough when he asks is she single; for the record I quite like Ross but his constant flirtation with female guests is not one of his more charming traits).

    But funny? She's mildly funny in this interview, IMO. But nothing more than that.


  • #107
    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,474 ✭✭✭Obvious Desperate Breakfasts


    OP, what a fresh and original observation! :P :pac:

    My thoughts - MOST comedians are average to bad. There are more male comedians by some way so you’ll see all the bad but some good. There are so much fewer female comedians that it’s going to take longer to find good ones. I reckon if you looked at the ratio of good to bad within the male grouping and the female grouping, the ratio would be similar.


  • #108
    silverharp
    Registered Users Posts: 17,838 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    Earthhorse wrote: »
    This video kept appearing in my YouTube recommendations recently till the point where I caved and watched (literally this week). She's definitely charming and quick (she puts Ross in his place quick enough when he asks is she single; for the record I quite like Ross but his constant flirtation with female guests is not one of his more charming traits).

    But funny? She's mildly funny in this interview, IMO. But nothing more than that.

    she isnt bad and has a certain charm about her but at the same time a bit forced. Kate Beckensale on Graham Nornton was funnier and she isnt a comedian

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



  • #109
    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,474 ✭✭✭Obvious Desperate Breakfasts


    Earthhorse wrote: »
    This video kept appearing in my YouTube recommendations recently till the point where I caved and watched (literally this week). She's definitely charming and quick (she puts Ross in his place quick enough when he asks is she single; for the record I quite like Ross but his constant flirtation with female guests is not one of his more charming traits).

    But funny? She's mildly funny in this interview, IMO. But nothing more than that.

    She’s hardly going to have a stand up bit prepared for an interview, is she? That seems like a standard interview. There’s nothing worse than comedians using bits from their sets in interviews rather than being genuine.


  • #110
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 19,906 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    silverharp wrote: »
    she isnt bad and has a certain charm about her but at the same time a bit forced. Kate Beckensale on Graham Nornton was funnier and she isnt a comedian

    Yeah but I'm working off the assumption that these talks shows are pretty scripted. In a sense, isn't it pretty likely that the best performers will be the acters along with the ones with a bit if personality?


  • #111
    gmisk
    Registered Users Posts: 31,816 ✭✭✭✭gmisk


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    I saw someone called Roisin Conaty on Live at the Apollo last night and she was actually pretty good. But I think the whole standup thing is a big dick swinging contest for men, and women's humour doesn't fit into that kind of thing most of the time. I know some very funny women, but I don't think they could turn it into a stage act.
    She is great on panel shows etc.
    Also one of the highlights of afterlife I thought.
    I also really enjoyed her own show called gameface 2 seasons of that.


  • Advertisement
  • #112
    Earthhorse
    Registered Users Posts: 14,715 ✭✭✭✭Earthhorse


    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »
    She’s hardly going to have a stand up bit prepared for an interview, is she?

    I don't know? Like you say a lot of comedians essentially do their stand up in lieu of an interview in these situations. But I'm talking about whether she's funny or not; not whether she has something prepared. She's not that naturally funny, IMO.
    El_Duderino 09 wrote: »
    Yeah but I'm working off the assumption that these talks shows are pretty scripted. In a sense, isn't it pretty likely that the best performers will be the acters along with the ones with a bit if personality?

    Bea is an actress originally (and is now doing more of it too).


  • #113
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 19,906 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    Earthhorse wrote: »

    Bea is an actress originally (and is now doing more of it too).

    So she said in that clip. She wrote and started in a show on C4 last year . This Way Up, it was called. I liked it.


  • #114
    Earthhorse
    Registered Users Posts: 14,715 ✭✭✭✭Earthhorse


    I'm not sure what you meant by your original post so. By your logic shouldn't Bea be at least as funny as Beckinsale then or even funnier given that she's a comedian?


  • #115
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 19,906 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    Earthhorse wrote: »
    I'm not sure what you meant by your original post so. By your logic shouldn't Bea be at least as funny as Beckinsale then or even funnier given that she's a comedian?

    I said pretty clearly that the ones who'd perform the best would be actors (because it's a scrpited show) and the ones with a bit of personality. It wasn't supposed to be an all encompassing rule which can be used to rank them prospecrively.


  • #116
    Lux23
    Registered Users Posts: 7,134 ✭✭✭Lux23


    I just think this is the stupidest, thread ever - dozens of comments asking are over 50% of the planet funny? Some men are funny, some women are funny! Like why are threads like this even allowed?


  • #117
    Earthhorse
    Registered Users Posts: 14,715 ✭✭✭✭Earthhorse


    El_Duderino 09 wrote: »
    I said pretty clearly that the ones who'd perform the best would be actors (because it's a scrpites show) and thise with a bit of personality. It wasn't supposed to be an all encompassing rule which can be used to rank them prospecrively.

    You were literally responding to a post where the two were being compared though. No one thought you'd come up with an all encompassing rule.


  • #118
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 19,906 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    Earthhorse wrote: »
    You were literally responding to a post where the two were being compared though. No one thought you'd come up with an all encompassing rule.

    Yeah. So the idea that an actor would do well (Kate Beckensale was mentioned as having done well on one of those shows) is to be expected. It's a scripted acting gig masquerading as a spontaneous conversation. So the fact that an a tor would nail it, isn't surprising.

    I'm not a big fan of hose shows at all. 10 mins of Graham Norton is funny but it's also plenty.


  • #119
    Pherekydes
    Registered Users Posts: 16,109 ✭✭✭✭Pherekydes


    Has anyone mentioned Jo Brand yet?

    Funniest post, after the OP, is the one calling Aisling Bea a 'plastic Paddy'.

    Dude, come back and explain yourself...
    :pac:


  • #120
    Rothko
    Registered Users Posts: 12,832 ✭✭✭✭Rothko


    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »
    OP, what a fresh and original observation! :P :pac:

    My thoughts - MOST comedians are average to bad. There are more male comedians by some way so you’ll see all the bad but some good. There are so much fewer female comedians that it’s going to take longer to find good ones. I reckon if you looked at the ratio of good to bad within the male grouping and the female grouping, the ratio would be similar.

    Finally, someone who speaks sense


  • Advertisement
  • #121
    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,474 ✭✭✭Obvious Desperate Breakfasts


    Pherekydes wrote: »
    Has anyone mentioned Jo Brand yet?

    Funniest post, after the OP, is the one calling Aisling Bea a 'plastic Paddy'.

    Dude, come back and explain yourself...
    :pac:

    I like Jo Brand!

    I too was perplexed by the Plastic Paddy comment re: Bea. :pac: Unless the poster meant that she plays up her Irishness, which she does a bit. But that’s different from being a Plastic Paddy.


Advertisement