The Radical Potential of Women?s Comedy: Laughter, Transgression, Transformation

With the recent advent of multi-channel television and an upsurge in live community festivals, the demand for comedy entertainment has also increased. A substantial share of this demand has been met by women comedians. To date, however, little academic literature has mapped this trend or analyzed its potential. Traditional constructions of comedy as a frivolous pastime are inadequate to explain the transformative power of shared laughter, as community acceptance of assertive funny women has radicalized the entertainment landscape. This book provides new insights into how women use humour to raise thorny issues to enhance both personal relations between the sexes and public appreciation of diversity. A women?s comedy festival, depicted through the stories of comedians, organisers and audience, reveals comedy and joke-telling celebrating human struggles, increasing people?s ability to connect with each other and to participate in the power economies of society. The analysis helps shed light on this exciting new form of social activism, and should be especially useful to performing arts professionals, media and women?s studies scholars, or anyone else considering the uses of comedy.