Laughter!

I really enjoyed this weeks reading on “The Seriously Erotic Politics of Laughter: Bitches, Whores and Other Fumerists”.  The reading explores the idea of being the subject of the joke to be the person that produces the joke. This ties in well with the Lugones and Spelman reading that touched on the idea of insiders and outsiders. In that the reading the writers spoke about the idea that the stories of outsiders are told by the insiders. Furthermore, even though these insiders belong to a different race and ethnicity than they outsiders they believe that they have the authority to speak on their behalf.  I see parallels between this and the idea of women often being “outsiders” to a joke and having jokes told about them and their stories. Through comedy women have the power to transform the words, behaviors and norms that have been used to oppress them into something that can be liberating. In essence, there is a swap in the insider-outsider dynamic.

However, the book does express that these jokes are not always jokes for jokes sake they can be “democratic and not reactionary for sheer fun” (24).  Furthermore, in many cases a stand-up comedy routine has sparked social outrage. For example, last year Hannibal Buress went on stage and called Bill Cosby a rapist during his stand-up routine. He managed to integrate this very serious accusation into his hilarious set. Even though the audience laughed at his comments serious conversations were re-ignited after the show about Bill Cosby’s rape allegations and more women came forward stating that they were also raped by Bill Cosby. Even though this is not an example of female comedian, it shows the power and place comedy has in the political sphere.

Furthermore, I found it interesting when the reading explored the figures of the “playboy bunny” and the “chauvinistic pig”. In particular, the idea that the word “pig” was first used to speak about the police; however, many white feminists may be unaware of that. As a black woman, I think that it is important that these interrelationships are exposed and reflected upon, so that one movement does not undermine the other.