Women have always had a harder time gaining respect in society and in their careers. Comedy is no exception to this as it falls into a classic mold requiring dominance and control. It has historically been considered a man’s world with it’s outspokenness and impolite nature; all characteristics associated with masculinity. The evolution of women in comedy is closely associated with the social norms of the time and how women were viewed in society. Women have struggled to establish themselves in the industry, but one of the last elements of gender inequality in comedy and it’s future lies in the equal consideration of a woman’s professional abilities. Comedy is a platform to discuss social issues and it should reflect the progress that has been made in regards to gender issues in recent years. A universal appeal to humor for men and women is the key to the future of comedy. Humor should not be isolated based on gender, because as standup Gaby Dunn says, “For every moment that we are talking about female comedians as women and whether they are funny or about their clothes and looks, then we are not focusing on their actual comedy” (Silverman). 

The key to understanding women in comedy, in part, lies in the history of the industry as it related to society. The material of early female comedians always related back to their husbands or families. Their experiences were clouded in the idea of a man's world. This is indicative of society at that time with the housewife being the classic female role whose job it was to take care of everyone else. Joan Rivers marks the beginning of the modern, female comedian. Rivers discusses how comedy was run in the age that she began performing and how it was a white man’s industry with women staying far away from it, “When I started out, a pretty girl did not go into comedy. If you saw a pretty girl walk into a nightclub, she was automatically a singer. Comedy was all white, older men” (Rivers). It is made clear that she did everything in her career and achieved all that she did solely for herself and the betterment of her career. She did not like to think of herself as a pioneer who paved the way for women in comedy even though she did. She always had the mentality, even at the height of sexism in the industry, that if she considered herself at the same level as her male colleagues, others would begin to as well. This was a very modern notion that is only recently being considered the future of comedy; genderless. She was uncensored and her material spanned topics that weren’t openly being discussed in her day, especially by a woman. She was strong-minded, smart and an extremely hard worker and the fact that she was brutal and aggressive as a woman in the industry was important in breaking gender stereotypes. The group Rivers rose to fame with included male comedians Woody Allen and Bill Cosby. She was the minority as a woman in a “male's” industry and her experience holds a higher cultural context. She says that her career was the last to break through and believes it was because she was a woman.  She was very close with Johnny Carson and frequented his late night show as many of her male colleagues did. They all ended up leaving the show and having their own break out careers, but when River’s left Carson was brutal towards her, seeing her departure as betrayal. Rivers reflects on being very hurt by this considering her male colleagues did not receive the same cold treatment and attributed it to being a woman and Carson’s property. This sheds light on the early age of comedy and helps characterize the society and the sexism which affected every facet of a female comedian’s career and performances (Rivers). 

As comedy progressed with the age of comedy clubs starting, it was clear to female comedians that women were limited in the type of jokes they could tell, but that men could tell any kind of joke they wanted. A common theme amongst female comics was self-deprecating material.  A prime example of this was the early female comedian, Phyllis Diller. She embraced judgements from the public about her being “ugly”, and used this in her performances to produce reactions from the audience. Her entertainment style was reliant on her portrayal of an unrefined, out of the norm female persona. But it is well-known that in her personal life she was very proper and sophisticated. She was forced to adjust to better appeal to the audience and their expectations of what a female comedian looked like at the time. Showing a change of the times, Roseanne Barr was a groundbreaking female comic in that her material didn’t necessarily bring herself down, but instead said whatever she wanted, “In Suzanne Lavin’s close analysis of Barr’s early solo work, she refers to her as a ‘‘negative exemplar’’ who, by embodying everything that a woman is not supposed to be, becomes a positive role model” (Mock). This new type of woman being presented represented real people and a new, realistic approach to women. It was brought to life by Barr, characterizing the power of comedy to change with the times as well as produce change.  As women struggled with breaking boundaries and television and media took a larger role in their presence, characters such as Sarah Silverman also broke boundaries with uncensored free speech reaching topics many comics hadn't before. The evolution of comedy is made known by the powerful female comics of today, as they acknowledge the efforts of those before them while wishing to close the conversation about women in comedy and make comedy about appealing to all genders and people. 

Comedy is often used to discuss social issues in an approachable way which makes females in comedy so important, yet explains the difficulty they have faced trying to break into such an industry. In a more modern context, writer and comedian Jessi Klein has an interesting experience being a tomboy in a society which encourages femininity and uses this to shed light on gender norms and other recognizable societal issues in an approachable way. It is clear that her experiences have shaped her comedic writing and that her collaboration with colleague Amy Schumer is one she is proud of. Writing for Amy Schumer holds significance for since it is a female collaboration with like-minded individuals writing material that sheds light on the often humorous human experience today and they draw from their perspective as women to discuss the ridiculous situations women still face today. Jessi Klein expresses her gratitude for working with Schumer when she says, “By doing what she does, she created a platform for all of these things – stuff that you might not have even had the guts to pitch on another sketch show because there is a sense that men won’t get it, so it won’t be considered worth doing”(Press). She refers to the difficulty in pitching such ideas and has experience doing so and being received poorly. Klein pitched an all-female driven series to various networks and despite her career and the improvements which have been made in recent years, the producers still were concerned with how men could relate to the show.  There is significance to Inside Amy Schumer in that it draws on gender politics and societal norms and gives a voice to social issues. The show is deemed “sneakily feminist” due to the fact that it appeals to male viewership while sending a clear message about gender politics in society today. Another show which delivers ideas of feminism in an approachable, light-hearted way is Broad City. The writers say that comedy is their first priority, but feminism and important social issue sneak into the show in unthreatening way that attracts male viewership.  To do this a writer from Slate, Willa Patkinson, comments, “Schumer, the writer, tackles her objectification, while Schumer, the character, takes comfort in it…By wrapping her ideas in a ditzy, sexy, slutty, self-hating shtick, her message goes down easy—and only then, like the alien, sticks its opinionated teeth into you.”(Dockterman).This marks the new age of comedy which is  moving towards humor that appeals to all genders in an approachable way, “ With a dose of humor, even the most bitter medicine tastes sweet; comedy can make feminism more palatable and accessible to a general public weary of a movement marred by stereotypes of "man-haters."” (Bianco).

There are psychological and sociological reasons for the disparity between female and male comedians as seen most clearly in the past. Focusing on Tina Fey to illustrate the female public persona which has been historically more difficult to cultivate in the business, her accomplishments are in a range of roles in comedy and are remarkable to her career. Additionally, cultural influences are discussed including the actions of female comics in appealing to audiences with gender stereotypes, throwing commentary on them by means of self-deprecating material. Specific instances are discussed and analyzed. Fey discusses the institutional as well as personal sexism she has seen in the industry, but comments on the changes she has seen throughout her career. Fey uses sarcasm to answer to sexist questions and treatment in the industry and engages her quick wit and intellect in doing so. Comedy is a prime example of “deviant behavior” which is deemed more accepted for men. A comedian is a performer who has a voice and a message to get across, but the message’s success is only noticed if they have an effective delivery as discussed in the Feminist Media Studies journal, “These double texts enable women to make self-deprecating jokes, consistent with women's traditionally less powerful social status while simultaneously commenting on that status” (Lauzen). Gender has an effect on comedy since society registers men as inherently funny, “The presence of a female comic elicits a much different audience reaction than that of her male counterpart. "Deviant behavior and expression" are somehow more palatable from a man. He is granted his due - assumed to be funny until he proves to be otherwise - while she starts from a different position - she must prove that she can be funny” (Russell).  Women’s niche in comedy is self-deprecation. Research from studies show that most comics use self deprecation, regardless of their gender, but women were observed to use it more prevalently. The journal also discusses the gender roles of comedy being affected by the societal norms of women laughing at men's jokes; Of men being the initiators of humor and women being the responders. Female humor is seen as “aggressive”. Social conventions planted in North America for generations encourages a passive role; the opposite of stand-up comedy. Women in comedy have a harder time due to the fact that their goal in their act is to gain dominance and attention from the room. In a traditional sense, if she was at the top of the power structure, that would defy traditional norms. The idea of sex further complicates the complex of women in comedy as openly discussing sex contributes to the disregard of traditional social conventions (Lauzen).  

There are still pay gaps and inequalities in its business sector, comedy fundamentally is neither a man's world nor a woman's world. In a PBS special, well-known female comedians urge that comedy should not be discussed presently as being biased towards women as that discussion perpetuates different treatment. Female trailblazers worked hard to get comedy to where it is today and while there is always work to be done, it is more effective to not isolate women in their struggle in the industry, but rather acknowledge that they are equal contenders and continue working hard to be considered so (PBS).  There is a value in viewing institutions such as comedy as universally appealed to.While women are held to a higher standard than men, talented women are asking to be treated as equals, because even in a specific institution such as comedy, there is an opportunity for change (Berg). The key to creating change in society requires individual vehicles of change to do so and these changes make it the more likely for society to catch up to this mentality. Female comedians have come a long way from discussing their place as a housewife and the traditional role of a woman and have used their performances to throw commentary on important issues in an approachable way. This hard work has created a change in dialogue and helped the industry get to the point it is today.
