My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Only 2 "non-male" comedians in British Top 20 - and one is Eddie Izzard

75 replies

FightingTheFoo · 05/02/2021 17:22

According to a "scientific" study commissioned by some random website and covered by LadBible.

No women at all in the top 10. The first "woman" to appear on the list is at #15 and that entry is Eddie Izzard. (Izzard's new gender must have cost them at least a couple of places because women aren't funny, are they?)

Sarah Millican comes in at #19.

This is how Lad Bible puts it: "Interestingly enough, the only non-male comedians to feature on the list were Sarah Millican and gender-fluid Eddie Izzard."

So, Sarah Millican is now a "non-male". Has anyone asked Sarah if that's how she identifies? I suspect not.

Oh, and the disingenuousness of putting her name before Izzard's in that sentence when she is actually four places below him on the list - to hide the MISOGYNY.

I feel a rage blackout coming on.

https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/tv-and-film-jimmy-carr-is-the-funniest-british-comedian-according-to-science-20210204

OP posts:
Report
MissBarbary · 05/02/2021 19:11

[quote ArabellaScott]New to me. She's funny.

[/quote]
I think that's the first time I've ever laughed at anyone at the Apollo.
Report
ArabellaScott · 05/02/2021 19:12


Quite enjoying this so far. Sarah Millican.
Report
Wandawomble · 05/02/2021 19:18

Jennifer Saunders?
Carr is vile.

Report
Wandawomble · 05/02/2021 19:20

French and Saunders were legendary. Eddie is just getting annoying now. This has done wonders for his career hasn’t it?

Report
ErrolTheDragon · 05/02/2021 19:22

I've just started occasionally listening to the R4 6:30 comedy slot, it seems to me there are more women on it than in the past. Perhaps doing shows remotely is working well for more of them?

As the ladbible piece itself points out, laughs per hour is a crude metric.
Even apart from the strange inclusion of only one woman and mis-categorising Izzard (who is, regardless of 'gender', immutably male), it doesn't even have a lot of the best males for humour. Maybe that's a different category to just 'comedian'.

Report
AnyOldPrion · 05/02/2021 19:39

However - they are clear about their methodology, so I don't know that I'd argue it's sexist as such. Maybe people do laugh more at male comics. Maybe it's a statistical anomaly.

Or maybe they put in way more men than women. Even scientific studies are only as good as the information you put in and can be deeply biased due to the misconceptions of the people running them.

Report
MaudesMum · 05/02/2021 19:51

Mock The Week, which used to be dominated by blokes, has now changed a bit. Last night's episode had Angela Barnes and Masie Adam on it, both of whom made me laugh a lot.

Report
Mumofgirlswholiketoplaywithmud · 05/02/2021 19:57

Miranda Hart every day of the week for me!

Report
TheBuffster · 05/02/2021 19:57

Could the scewed results be affected by social conditioning? I'm pretty sure people are socially conditioned to respond to men and women in different ways.
Then if it's laughs per minute that is quantity over quality. A good comic will do a good build up rather than one liners. Most people in an audience will laugh at unfunny jokes as well because it's not nice to let people die on stage as the tumbleweed rolls.
And how did they test who in the audience was laughing at what?
I mean, was there a way to test if Jimmy Carr did an awfully sexist joke if the women weren't laughing but the men were?
And for that matter, did women's laughter even register with the technology used. I bring this up because Alexa and Google don't register female voices well.

Report
KimThomas · 05/02/2021 20:03

One of the funniest live acts I’ve ever seen was Nina Conti. Not strictly a comedian, I suppose, but I’ve rarely laughed so much in my life.

Report
PrincessNutNuts · 05/02/2021 20:13

Angela Barnes,
Tiffany Stevenson
Suzi Ruffell,
Jessica Fostekew
Kirk Pritchard - McLean
Catherine Bohart,
Rosie Jones,
Jen Brister,
Shazia Mirza
Mar Martin,
Zoe Lyons
Sindhi Vee,
Josie Long,
Jayde Adams,
Lucy Porter,
Francesca Martinez,
Luisa Omielan,
Fern Brady

All are funnier than most of those on that list.

( I see a lot of live comedy. In normal times.)

Report
WarOnWomen · 05/02/2021 20:28

[quote ArabellaScott]New to me. She's funny.

[/quote]

Very funny and relatable. New to me too.
Report
ValancyRedfern · 05/02/2021 21:19

I've seen another set from Sindhu Vi on Live at the Apollo as well. She's great.

Report
Defaultname · 05/02/2021 21:26

I suspect someone's been using a Clap-ometer!

Report
DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 05/02/2021 21:29

Sindhu Vee is brilliant. One of my very favourite comedians.

Report
SusannaSpider · 05/02/2021 21:37

@MissBarbary

Yes, it's true. Although it comes on the back of Manx women having to go to England and pay for for an abortion up till then, it was never really regarded as illegal though, not in recent times. Just not obtainable on island unless for medical reasons.
Manx flag comments were a bit offensive though.

Report
Babdoc · 06/02/2021 09:47

What about Mary Bourke? Hilarious, feminist and resolutely GC. Saw her at the Fringe a couple of years ago, and she does some great stuff online at present.

Report
Giggorata · 06/02/2021 13:38

That... person is not female and not not funny.

Report
MissBarbary · 06/02/2021 13:57

[quote SusannaSpider]@MissBarbary

Yes, it's true. Although it comes on the back of Manx women having to go to England and pay for for an abortion up till then, it was never really regarded as illegal though, not in recent times. Just not obtainable on island unless for medical reasons.
Manx flag comments were a bit offensive though.[/quote]
Yes, those comments were unnecessary and spoilt the rest of the piece.

Report
Wearywithteens · 06/02/2021 14:06

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Fromage · 06/02/2021 14:16

But Eddie Izzard is male.

Sarah Millican is one of those wombum things JKR got into so much trouble for mentioning.

Report
Fromage · 06/02/2021 14:17

I love Luisa Omielan.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Zandathepanda · 06/02/2021 14:24

I love Maisie Adam. Listening to her in Mock The Week is interesting as it makes the male comedians seem so old fashioned with their humour.

Report
viques · 06/02/2021 14:29

@ValancyRedfern

I've seen another set from Sindhu Vi on Live at the Apollo as well. She's great.

Another one who hadn’t heard of her, but am looking forward to her getting on the comedy roundabout because she deserves to be there.
Report
Retrogal · 06/02/2021 14:36

If Sarah Millican is non-male, does that make all the others non-female 🤨
Ridiculous use of terminology

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.