I used to like Sara Pascoe

[KimberleyClark]

But she has just plummeted in my estimation. She thinks female comedians get funnier when they become mums.

https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2024/04/18/55442/women_get_better_at_comedy_when_they_become_mums?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHepyXeicxjjVS5xswMo3_knHFQC_X6namIYVqs-O0csIPSZ_Kg4PHwI1Wg_aem_AaxoZ-9610r8recHWYEDiOWQg2Q_9gKTGyQ4rlIizkHAdNAGuCe-5_sPBQ54qLmQids

That seems like a bit of an over reaction. Don’t you think she’s maybe pushing back at convention that women who’ve had children are worse at their jobs?

She has never been funny so I suppose she couldnt get any worse.

Maybe they do?

It doesn't mean that they're funnier than comedians who don't have kids though.

Quite and some female comedians don’t need to have kids to be happy! And….”I’m funnier since I became a dad” said no male comedian ever. Parental status is nothing to do with your ability to be funny.

You took the words right out of my mouth!

No, she’s awful. Self-righteous, needy and lacking in any real humour- peak Millennial. Sorry, Millennials. Obviously you aren’t all like that but she embodies all the worst stereotypes.

I suppose it gives them an endless source of tedious jokes about family life another vein of comedy to mine.

I think she's just trying to convince herself that even though she doesn't have much time to put into her act, she is funnier than before.

I went to see her recently, her entire set was about being a mother and hating it. It was actually very funny. She did seem barely hanging in there from lack of sleep (or gave a convincing impression of someone being chaotically tired and frazzled).

I have to admit, I interpreted the statement as "now I can laugh along at That One Set that female comedians all immediately start doing once they become a mum". You know the set, the one that's basically "I hate being a mum, my kids are a nightmare, my life is awful, hahahahahahaha!"

(The male equivalent One Set is to say the same of his wife.)

Down in my estimation too if that's what she now thinks. I didn't realise she had kids. Didn't she used to make a big thing about being childfree?

Well,so did Cameron Diaz....

I feel the same, and on a recent interview she sounded like a regular mum bore. I turned it over!

Comes across as smug.

Smug how 'tired' she is, and how she jusr had to get to get a coffee machine for her bedroom to get a coffee so she could get up and go downstairs for another coffee.

Soooooo exhausting.

True. I only just found out Jimmy Carr has kids now as well....bit of a surprise since I read an article about him years ago where he said he and his partner didn't want kids. Any childfree celebs left at this point?!

Yeah that's weird - obviously people can change their minds but if they go on about it alot you imagine they are serious about it. I somehow doubt he is doing the night feeds etc.

As for Sarah Pascoe, I never liked her tbh, always found her a bit smug and self righteous - didn't she used to go on about being vegan all the time?

I suppose if she saw herself as cool and alternative, and then went and did a very routine thing (having kids) so she has to reframe it as something cool and alternative. She wasn't funny to begin with so I doubt it has made her funnier.

Diane Morgan is one I can think of who is still childfree by choice!

Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon are still childfree!

Sarah Millican has always said she doesn't want children and has stuck to it, unless you count her pets.

Guy Pearce - remember reading an interview with him where he said “my wife and I think there’s enough people in the world already” then suddenly bang, he’s with another woman and they have a child.

@ApplesOnWards I'll have to take more notice of her next time she's on. I don't know her that well, but always happy to support childfree comedians.

@Lux000 I need to watch more Ricky Gervais stuff. He must be outspoken about not having kids because now you've reminded me he's childfree, that's all I knew about him lol.

@TinselSniffer yes of course, how could I forget Sarah Millican-LOVE her!

I think a lot of older guys do that when they bag a younger woman - they need to keep her somehow so go along with having a baby if that's what she wants.

Yeah, she wasn't funny to start with.

I heard the whole interview with Jesse Ware. You have taken it out of context.
She just explained she had no time to overthink everything anymore as once the gig was done she was back to the mum shift. It is a good point.

it does frustrate me when female comedians basically become mummy bloggers post kids- their entire sets, podcasts, books all become about family life and babies. Examples include Pascoe, Katherine Ryan, Ellie Taylor etc. great for them that they are happy but it alienates their childfree/ childless fan base - I had to stop listening to Katharine Ryan as her podcast became breast feeding/ potty training chat.
its disappointing that Pascoe has gone this way - she had fertility issues (as did Katherine Ryan) so you would have thought they might have had a bit more emotional intelligence about it all. I find the mummy/ kids/ moaning about your family humour boring comedy that’s been done to death - but I guess it must be profitable!
anyone know any decent female comedians who don’t do the moaning about family/ I’m so tired/ mummy humour?

All the male comedians do it too, the wife and kids stuff. Their set naturally changes as their life does, be a bit weird if it didn't. Especially those with long careers.

Agree - maybe a bit unfair of me focussing on only female comedians. Guess I’m just a bit gutted that the comedians I previously liked I just can’t relate to anymore. It’s just a bit crap when the comedians your own age you can’t relate to, and then also don’t relate massively to comedians younger than me as I don’t get half of their cultural references! I don’t mind a bit of the family stuff in a set- but when you pay £30+ quid for a ticket and they just slag off their kids for an hour it’s a snooze fest….and as said before not exactly original!