Funny Women

There is this long standing status that women are not funny. If you were to ask me who I think the funniest people are, I would say Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Dennis Miller, and probably Jerry Seinfeld. Every night I watch Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewert. I wish I had HBO so I could watch Bill Mahr. I've paid money to see Lewis Black, Jim Gaffigan, and George Carlin. I have Mitch Hedburg on my IPOD. Look at history. Where would comedy be without Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, Benny Hill, or Monty Python? These comedians are all men. Some are Jewish, but none are women. But does that mean I am sexist or that I don't think women are funny? I don't really think so.
One of the funniest television characters is Elaine Benes, played by Julia Louise Dreyfus. Dreyfuss played a woman who was living in a man's world and held her own. Dreyfuss is now in another successful sitcom, and had a great guest-spot on Arrested Development. Susie Essman and Cheryl Heins are integral parts of Curb Your Enthusiasm. They both have a different type of funny. The same goes for Jenna Fischer and the girls on The Office.

One woman who has gained plenty of attention lately is Sarah Silverman. Silverman had one of the best tellings of the Aristocrats in The Aristocrats, and she was surrounded by the greats like Carlin, Richard Lewis, and Don Rickles. Silverman gets her funny by treading on the ground where men can't usually tread. Jokes about rape and menstruating are not in the usual guy-comedy show. Silverman now has her own show and the ever popular "I'm F-ing Matt Damon" video.

It seems people don't remember how funny Whoppi Goldberg, Ellen Degeneres, and Joan Rivers were before they became household names. What about the slew of funny women that have come out of Saturday Night Live. Gilda Radner was the original funny woman. Dreyfuss and Silverman both have a SNL history, and of course Tina Fey. Tina Fey was the head-writer on the show, had a popular movie with Mean Girls, and now has an award winning television show.

I could spend a while naming male comedians, but I would not be able to name too many women. And I know alot of comedians. I don't really think that the problem is there are no funny women, I think the problem is that female comedians are not as well known as their male counter-parts. Most of the time when you find a female comedian, she is really funny. Where there are a lot of male comedians that are famous that are not funny. (Ahem, Carlos Mencia, cough, Dane Cook.)

But you do have the best of both worlds with Eddie Izzard, who is a male comedian who is a funny woman.