Is Sir Michael Parkinson within his rights?

[flaviaritt]

Says men are funnier than women. He says, ‘It's a very contentious statement, but they're much better'.

My view is that, by the age of 85, if you think men are funnier than women, it’s just your opinion based on your experience and nobody should be getting riled up about it.

Reasonable?

But then again, I don’t necessarily think having catholic tastes is some sort of virtue. We can’t help what we like.

Why do you think there’s a specific female stand up theme though? How many male comedians would you say you’ve seen and what’s their common theme?

Because every time a female stand up is in I say to DP, here we go...Vagina, weight and periods, and it’s always the same! Seen lots of male stand ups, most are on various subjects

@LioneIRichTea

Why do you think there’s a specific female stand up theme though? How many male comedians would you say you’ve seen and what’s their common theme?

Because every time a female stand up is in I say to DP, here we go...Vagina, weight and periods, and it’s always the same! Seen lots of male stand ups, most are on various subjects

Why do you think that is though? Why is there such a limited range for female comedians?

Maybe that’s all I see! I don’t mean comedians like Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, I mean the ones you get on Live at the Apollo and on (mainly) on panel shows. It’s always, ooooh I’m so edgy talking about my vagina. I wish I could pick out examples but they all merge into one 😬

Oh sorry have I misread? Do you mean why do I think that’s all that they talk about?

@LioneIRichTea

Maybe that’s all I see! I don’t mean comedians like Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, I mean the ones you get on Live at the Apollo and on (mainly) on panel shows. It’s always, ooooh I’m so edgy talking about my vagina. I wish I could pick out examples but they all merge into one 😬

So, my point is, the vast majority of women who break into mainstream comedy do so because they fit that mould (mold?) - ie it’s safe ‘women in comedy’. That’s slowly changing but it’s fair to say that men get much more leniency in what they talk about and what type of comedy they perform. I can’t off the top of my head think of a female Lee Evans who’s regularly on tv panel shows, for example. So perhaps instead of lambasting women for not being funny enough, we should look at the reasons they can’t branch out.

Nooo, women can be just as hilarious.

I can’t off the top of my head think of a female Lee Evans who’s regularly on tv panel shows, for example. So perhaps instead of lambasting women for not being funny enough, we should look at the reasons they can’t branch out.

There’s nothing stopping women being a ‘Lee Evans’ I’m sure women aren’t just doing comedy bound by some invisible chains stopping them progressing to mainstream! If that was the case local comedy venues would be awash with Lee Evans types trying to make it big and they’re not. The fact is women are probably doing that type of comedy as they think it’s what women want to hear as it’s relatable and sometimes it is. It’s not funny though.

@LioneIRichTea

I can’t off the top of my head think of a female Lee Evans who’s regularly on tv panel shows, for example. So perhaps instead of lambasting women for not being funny enough, we should look at the reasons they can’t branch out.

There’s nothing stopping women being a ‘Lee Evans’ I’m sure women aren’t just doing comedy bound by some invisible chains stopping them progressing to mainstream! If that was the case local comedy venues would be awash with Lee Evans types trying to make it big and they’re not. The fact is women are probably doing that type of comedy as they think it’s what women want to hear as it’s relatable and sometimes it is. It’s not funny though.

You said yourself they all do the same thing though. Why is that, if there’s an untapped market in female slapstick?

You say invisible chains - I see misogyny, a self-fulfilling prophecy of ‘women are less funny than men’ and a heap of people in the public eye willing and able to make blanket statements about women not being as good.

You said yourself they all do the same thing though. Why is that, if there’s an untapped market in female slapstick?

No idea, a comedian needs to answer this.

YABU. Women are allowed to be offended and angry by sexist statements. Which MP's comment was.

If he'd said he found black people less funny, or disabled people less funny, or Jews less funny, would it still be a perfectly acceptable statement based on lived experience? Or would he be a racist/disablist/anti-semitic twat?

@LioneIRichTea

You said yourself they all do the same thing though. Why is that, if there’s an untapped market in female slapstick?

No idea, a comedian needs to answer this.

Ok but until that person comes along, we can discuss it ourselves surely? Misogyny in comedy? So few mainstream female comedians? Less range of performance? Surely these all contribute more to the perception of women comedians than simply ‘women are less funny’?

So an 85 year old racist is ok cos his opinions are based on his long life experience

Ok but until that person comes along, we can discuss it ourselves surely? Misogyny in comedy? So few mainstream female comedians? Less range of performance? Surely these all contribute more to the perception of women comedians than simply ‘women are less funny’?

I just gave my opinion that I didn’t, on the whole, find female stand up comedy funny. Not females nor female comedians, just the subject matter in the stand up routines. That’s all, no deeper meaning. It was just my opinion too, not fact. Some women might feel emboldened by stand up about vaginas and periods, what do I know?

So an 85 year old racist is ok cos his opinions are based on his long life experience hmm

I suppose what I would consider sexist/racist doesn’t include subjective artistic preferences. If someone said “I like art produced by white painters more than I like art produced by black painters” I would find that statement odd, but not necessarily racist. They’re not judging the humans, they are judging the creative output, and they are not in charge of their subjective responses.

Calligraphy572

I see no issue with anyone calling MP a twat. Feel free.

@flaviaritt

So an 85 year old racist is ok cos his opinions are based on his long life experience hmm

I suppose what I would consider sexist/racist doesn’t include subjective artistic preferences. If someone said “I like art produced by white painters more than I like art produced by black painters” I would find that statement odd, but not necessarily racist. They’re not judging the humans, they are judging the creative output, and they are not in charge of their subjective responses.

Again though, that’s not what he said. He said men are better.

@LioneIRichTea

Ok but until that person comes along, we can discuss it ourselves surely? Misogyny in comedy? So few mainstream female comedians? Less range of performance? Surely these all contribute more to the perception of women comedians than simply ‘women are less funny’?

I just gave my opinion that I didn’t, on the whole, find female stand up comedy funny. Not females nor female comedians, just the subject matter in the stand up routines. That’s all, no deeper meaning. It was just my opinion too, not fact. Some women might feel emboldened by stand up about vaginas and periods, what do I know?

Ok but don’t you think that’s a bit weird? Is there any other group you think do comedy better? White people? Able bodied people? If you’ve got an opinion that’s fairly offensive that you’re not embarrassed about don’t you think it’s worth a little bit of self-examination?

@LioneIRichTea

Ok but until that person comes along, we can discuss it ourselves surely? Misogyny in comedy? So few mainstream female comedians? Less range of performance? Surely these all contribute more to the perception of women comedians than simply ‘women are less funny’?

I just gave my opinion that I didn’t, on the whole, find female stand up comedy funny. Not females nor female comedians, just the subject matter in the stand up routines. That’s all, no deeper meaning. It was just my opinion too, not fact. Some women might feel emboldened by stand up about vaginas and periods, what do I know?

You also keep repeating that women comedians are trying to appeal to, or embolden other women. So even in your own vocabulary you’re holding women to a higher standard. Who are male comedians trying to embolden? Or are they just allowed to have a laugh?

@flaviaritt

So an 85 year old racist is ok cos his opinions are based on his long life experience hmm

I suppose what I would consider sexist/racist doesn’t include subjective artistic preferences. If someone said “I like art produced by white painters more than I like art produced by black painters” I would find that statement odd, but not necessarily racist. They’re not judging the humans, they are judging the creative output, and they are not in charge of their subjective responses.

And that’s a racist statement by the way. They are judging the humans if they can categorise the art by skin colour.

Twat was way too much of a get-out. He is a sexist. In the other cases, he would be a racist, disablist or an anti-semite.

And trying to draw a line between a person and their creative output is rhetorical twaddle. To say you like white people's art better would, indeed, make you racist. Also ignorant, but that probably goes hand in hand.

Calligraphy572

I don’t think that’s true at all. But we are are each entitled to our opinion.

@flaviaritt

Calligraphy572

I don’t think that’s true at all. But we are are each entitled to our opinion.

It is though. It’s a racist statement.

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that a person went to an art gallery and observed a few hundred paintings, where the gallery had specifically curated the collection so that it contained an equal number by men and women. If they picked their favourite twenty and they were all women, would it not be reasonable for them to say that, in their subjective opinion, women produced better paintings than men?