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Discussion & Study Guide

Funny Ladies

LESSON PLANNING SUGGESTIONS

1. Have people bring in a cartoon, comic strip, and/or writing which they consider funny. Discuss why they think it is funny. If applicable, discuss the images of women and men in the humorous piece.
   
   
2. Have people go through the comics page in a newspaper one day. Have them answer the following questions:
   
   • How many cartoons have female creators?
     
     
   • If there are female cartoonists represented, is their humor different from or similar to the humor of the male cartoonists?
     
     
   • How are women/girls and men/boys portrayed in the cartoons (e.g. pay attention to the activities they are engaged in, the ways in which they talk, the ways which they are drawn)?
     
     
   • Are there differences and/or similarities in the way which female cartoonists and male cartoonists portray male and female characters?

   
   

3. Answer the questions in #2 for supposedly funny TV shows, movies (e.g. comparing "Thelma and Louise" with "Parenthood", etc.), and for stand-up comedy routines.
   
   
4. On a more general note, discuss language and how it is used by women and men. Many feminists link language to power; does humor confer power on its user?
   
   
5. Discuss the stereotype that "women do not have a sense of humor." Why did this stereotype develop? Is it true or false?
   
   
6. Have people read and discuss humor written by women (and men) from different ethnic backgrounds, cultures, countries, and sexual orientations. Much of the humor that most people in the U.S. are exposed to (e.g., newspaper comic strips) are written by white men. This exercise could encourage people to consider the universality of humor but at the same time, to realize the importance of one's culture, ethnic, etc. background in the specifics of humor. For example, I find some of the humor from Britain not very funny.
   
   
7. Watch "Funny Ladies" and discuss the relative absence of funny women from mainstream humor media. Have people do research on historical and contemporary women who have written and/or drawn humor. What social conditions prevented and/or encouraged these women from being humorous and from being "successful" in mainstream publications?
   
   
8. Examine the historical and political use of humor as a means of ridiculing and oppressing certain groups of people. For example, many so-called humorous caricatures of the suffragists and, more recently, the feminists, have been produced. What are the messages in these pieces?
   
   
9. An extension of #8 would be to discuss the uses of humor. Why does it exsit and do we need it to survive?
   

Suggested Readings

Crawford, M. (1989). "Humor in conversational context: Beyond biases in the study of gender and humor". In R.K. Unger (Ed.), Representations: Social Constructions of Gender (pp. 155-166).

Marlowe, L. (1989). "A sense of humor". In R. K. Unger (Ed.), Representations: Social Constructions of Gender (pp. 145-154).

Priest, R.F. & Wilhelm, P.G. (1974). "Sex, marital status an self-actualization as factors in the apprecation of sexist jokes." The Journal of Social Psychology, 92, 245-249.

Hollander, Nicole. The Whole Enchilada, Tales from the Planet Sylvia.

Warren, Rosalind. Women's Glib and Women's Glibber: State-of-the-Art Women's Humor.

Barreca, Gina. Last Laughs: Perspectives on Women & Comedy.