Shattering comedy's 'gas ceiling'

Female stand-ups face casual misogyny every night, not just from rowdy audience members, but also from their fellow comedians. Is it any wonder there's a dearth of female comics on the circuit, writes comedian RÓISÍN WILSON

‘WHY AREN’T there any funny female comics anymore?” demand recent headlines. As a disillusioned female stand-up, I think I know the answer. Many people are funny to a greater or lesser extent, but more men think they are funny, and that brings more men into comedy.

Stand-up has been associated with oodles more males than females, which in turn attracts more men to comedy. With so many Y chromosomes in the comedy pot, there is a much bigger pool of potentially funny men than women. This increases the chances of producing more male funny, high-calibre comedians; male comedians are generally very competitive with each other, which can also raise their game.

Stand-up comedy is a male-orientated world. It is hardly surprising most women are not attracted to the call of the circuit; having “get your tits out!” shouted at you from strange men is not exactly alluring for most women.

Late nights, rowdy, heckling drunks, open misogyny, unpaid gigs and an expectation from the world that you will be rubbish at stand-up. Comedy is the last legitimate place where people can be free from the shackles of politically correctness. Putting down the opposite sex has been a universal theme in comedy since year dot.

Men are expected to be funny, but a woman has to prove she is funny first. A female stand-up taking the microphone can be a cue to some audience members to nip to the loo.Audiences like male comedians; they feel in safe hands when a man is on stage.

Most people grew up watching funny men and there is a strong association linking men and comedy. When a male stand-up takes the microphone the audience sees a comedian. When a female does the same, the audience sees a woman first, and then they see a comedian. Our gender is judged before we even begin. I am not knocking people for this – I have done it myself in the past.

With fewer females in comedy, there is a smaller pool of talent. Couple that with a mass assumption that your entire gender is lacking the stand-up funny gene, then you can see how it takes its toll.

Women with children are more restricted in gigging than men with children. The female partners of male comedians tend to be very supportive to their other halves, which is a huge and often underestimated advantage. When a man is a terrible stand-up, then the individual man is to blame, whereas if a female is not funny, the blame not only goes to that particular woman, but it is also shared out amongst the rest of her species.

Grassroots comedy competitions are biased towards male comedians too.

At one of the competitions I entered two years running, it wasn’t the funniest person who got through to the next heat, it was whoever had brought the most mates down to support them. Young male comedians can get a lot more mates to the venue than most women can.

I also did a few all-female stand-up competitions called “Funny Women”, and was asked, along with the other female contestants, to remove any C-words from our sets. Whether you object to swearing or not, it would be unthinkable for male comedians to be asked to take a swear word out of their set in an adult-only comedy club.

TV comedy panel shows are geared towards male strengths. It is not always a contest of which team is the funniest, but which is the shoutiest and pushiest.

There is a round in Mock the Weekwhere comedians are given a phrase and then compete with each other for the funniest lines. Frankie Boyle dominates this round usually, and most of the men are determined to have their say at the microphone. They don't even wait for the person at the mic to finish their bit before they come up behind them to ensure they are next on.

The women in this round tend not to do this, and I have detected a sense of “letting her have a go” from the men on that show sometimes. Most women are not naturally pushy in comedy, and unfortunately it is needed in those types of shows.

If a female and male stand-up have done equally well at a gig, the male comedians will congratulate the guy, and not necessarily the female act as well. The men stick together, even if they don’t particularly like each other; comedy is a bit of a boys’ club.

Women comedians do help and support each other, probably more than the men do, but unless it is an all-female line-up, most gigs have way more men than women performing. Most male stand-ups are friendly and even helpful with the female comics, but it is still a boys’ club.

This is great for banter, though. I often enjoyed the pre-gig banter more than doing my turn. Although there have been occasions when “only joking” was the get-out-of-jail-free-card for unfettered sexism and, to a much lesser extent, racism. I didn’t mind so much that hecklers shouted “Paki” at me.

Hecklers I can handle, but what I objected to was when a fellow stand-up, who happened to be male, racially insulted me before a comedy competition. This “comedian” – lets call him Dick; I barely knew him – loudly said in front of a load of male stand-ups and barmen, “Her dad is a Paki. You are a Paki, Róisin, aren’t you? She doesn’t look like a Paki.”

I didn’t have a witty reply, I just told him to f**k off, but it really stung. I didn’t complain because I didn’t want to be seen as an over-sensitive woman who couldn’t take a joke.

There are some unfunny women in comedy, of course there are, but there are some unfunny men comedians too. I cringe when I hear a female stand-up talking about her period or trying to out-smut the guys, but fortunately that is rare. I have heard some women stand-ups who are so awful, I have wanted a sex-change, just so I don’t have to share in the communal gender blame. But just how is it that half the population is deemed responsible for a woman deluded about how funny she is? Not all men are b**tards and not all women are sugar and spice.

Being funny is not enough in comedy; you also need to develop a thick skin, self-belief and an ability to take it on the chin, even when you get hit below the belt.

Comedy should not be a battle of the sexes; if it is going to be a battle of anything, then it ought to be wit. We are all as bad as each other in gender judging, but men have it a lot easier than women when it comes to progressing in stand-up comedy. That is not a debate, that is a fact.

Standing up for themselves

Gráinne Maguire

“I think most audiences have a perceived idea of what a stand-up is supposed to look and sound like and if you are different to that – not a white male – it will take you longer to win their trust. It can also be harder to have authority on stage, especially in rowdier rooms. That said, I think it makes female comics work harder, write better and ultimately become more interesting comics as a result.

“I think it is harder being a female but then it’s harder being a woman in most fields. if you’re good, you will get there – it will just take you longer.”

Janice Phayre

I’ve been going about six years. It’s much, much better now. It used to be, ‘And next on, we have a lady, so be nice to her. And, you never know, she might just get her tits out . . .’

“Now, the worst that will happen is that they use their most misogynist bits just before you come on. ‘ . . . And so I had to murder my wife. I just killed her ’cos she deserved it . . . Right, ladies, clap if you like buying shoes . . . that’s all of ya . . . right, what we will do now is that you will start the clap, it will move around the room, and when it gets to you, you will run up here and get your tits out. Ha ha . . .’.”

Mary Bourke

“One of the newer female acts was introduced on stage by the compere with the classic ‘The next act is crackin’ – I’d give her one.’ I asked her what she said to the compere afterwards. She said nothing ’cos she wanted more work and she was forced to laugh it off even though she was embarrassed. If that happened in an office you’d be straight on the phone to HR and he’d get a reprimand. The word went round the circuit, so the newer girls were ready for it. He did it again at the next gig to another woman and got a knee in the b*lls. Somehow I don’t think he’ll try it again. Direct action is the only way.”