Who's Funnier and Why?
Podcaster, comedian and recent Ricochet Podcast guest Adam Carolla is on the Twitter hot seat after this New York Post interview. Here's where the fury comes from:
Q. The lesson you learned from a sexual harassment seminar was “Don’t hire chicks.” Do you hate working with women?
A. No. But they make you hire a certain number of chicks, and they’re always the least funny on the writing staff. The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks. If my daughter has a mediocre sense of humor, I’m just gonna tell her, “Be a staff writer for a sitcom. Because they’ll have to hire you, they can’t really fire you, and you don’t have to produce that much. It’ll be awesome.
As one who listens to his podcast, I agree with him and here's why. First, a cursory look at the comedy podcast section on iTunes tells you it's dominated by men. Go back and think about all the comedians you grew up listening to and most of them are men. And a few of the most famous comediennes have had male-like qualities. Maybe men pursue a living out of it more than women, but some evidence to support him is there. While it's my guess that his last statement to his daughter is a bit of exaggeration, he's expressing in perhaps not the most delicate way the problem of Diversity For Diversity's Sake. But he misses there because I'm sure women are welcome on writing staffs because of the Seinfeldian problem of how to write for a female character. Here's the other reason. When you're a boy growing up, competing for the affection of a girl, you've got to bring something to the table. And all those years of performing to make girls laugh builds comedy muscles. Dudes are funnier than chicks because dudes have had to be funny, funnier than other dudes who are competing for those chicks. Can I say chicks on Ricochet?
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Comments:
May '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
You make 2 points (joke-telling is inherently unfeminine, and it is part of the natural competitive environment males work in) that are ones I've made, or heard made, in conversations I've had with my (male) friends going back decades.
In other words, your points are obvious to anyone who is paying attention. However, the state of the world we live in is such that your post is timely and will come as (unwelcome) news to many--so, thanks much! Well done.
May '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I will also offer my children as anecdotal confirmation of your point. Both have inherited my sense of humor, but the boy exhibits it in the form of joke-telling while the girl struggles to deliver a joke well; instead, she excels in adopting bizarre personas and acting weird. In other words, my son is a natural comedian, and my daughter is a natural comedic actress. Those are not the same thing.
Nov '11
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I don't think you can get any funnier than Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne, or Carole Lombard at their best, so I will insist upon this distinction for the purposes of this debate...
(In more recent times, Madeline Kahn and Barbara Harris were both absolute pitch-perfect comic geniuses. So it definitely does not apply to actresses. )
Edited on June 20, 2012 at 2:01amOct '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I grant there's some truth in this, CS, but not a lot. For the reasons Adrian gives, among others.
Nov '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I think of Thomas Sowell when he talks about how when you correct for all kinds of differences and compare apples to apples, the comparisons between men and women fade away. Could we make a case for that in comedy? Or are there differences that are too one-sided to be corrected?
Apr '12
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I think guys are funnier because it's our job to ease the tension, you know in a verbal kind of way.
May '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Perhaps, since women tend to be more socially conscious, they worry more about offense or appropriateness; while men dive right in.
Sep '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Carolla cites Tina Fey, Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman as super funny. Joy(less) Behar and Roseanne Barr, not-so-much.
Funny women are the exception. Besides, women are attracted to funny men, men aren't attracted to funny women generally. I am, but not to Kathy Griffin. I'll sleep with Adam Carolla (if he shaves) before Kathy Griffin. But Sarah Silverman wouldn't even have to shave - that's how funny she is.
Aug '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I've heard the saying "A woman appreciates a guy who can make her laugh". I've never heard the opposite expressed.
Don't know if that reflects a lack of truth or just a lack of truisms.
Nov '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
BlueAnt
I've heard the saying "A woman appreciates a guy who can make her laugh". I've never heard the opposite expressed.
Don't know if that reflects a lack of truth or just a lack of truisms. · 1 minute ago
Oh, I totally need a girl to make me laugh. I suppose I don't lead with that need, but it's not far behind the first couple.
May '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Three words: Madelyn Pugh Davis. She was the co-creator and co-writer of just about everything Lucille Ball ever did on television. These two women defined comedy for a generation.
Dec '11
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Let's face it. Men dominate "the comedic farm league". "Where is this "league"? ", you may ask. It is the classroom. Can anyone remember a female class clown? Men learn early what makes people laugh. It also takes a certain level of "jerkiness" to be the clown that women lack. Be honest when you think of a "smart aleck", don't you get the image of a man?
Apr '11
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
As much as it pains me to admit it, I actually agree with most of this. I would point out, though, that being funny and having a good sense of humor are not the same thing at all. I think women are generally deficient in the former but perfectly capable in the latter.
Christopher Hitchens got into a bit of hot water writing on this topic a few years ago.
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
I don't entirely agree with Carolla, but I'm certainly not offended by it. I don't think grouping comedy writers or comedians by sex is the best metric, though. For much of my life, my favorite funny guys were guys. My favorite comedy writers these days are definitely female -- including Tina Fey and Kristen Wiig. Mindy Kaling is my favorite writer on the office and she's also a hilarious actress. I think Lena Dunham is a genius -- and hilarious. Carrie Brownstein on Portlandia is great. While Young Adult was off tonally, it was also really funny and it was written by the same chick who wrote Juno (funny). The internet is full of funny women, including Julianne Smolinski and the Go Fug Yourself girls.
And all of my friends are funny and a good number of them are female.
I judge people on their ability to make me laugh, male and female.
Anyway, my point is that I don't agree with Carolla but I don't really care.
Apr '12
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
There's a lot of risk to one's sense of dignity in trying to be funny.
Charlotte:
I would point out, though, thatbeing funnyandhaving a good sense of humorare not the same thing at all. I think women are generally deficient in the former but perfectly capable in the latter.
Good point.
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Another thing is that near as I can tell, 99% of all sitcom writers aren't funny. But perhaps part of the problem is that they're a bunch of incestuous workplaces that lack diversity of experience. They hire token females rather than funny females and they don't open themselves up to having funny females because their hiring practices are completely nepotistic. If you're looking for a staff with a wide variety of education and experience, you'll probably get that. If you want everyone to have gone to the same few Ivy League schools, you'll probably get that, too.
Oct '11
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
My husband to me: you're pretty funny ... For a girl. He thinks it's a compliment. I consider it a challenge.
May '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
Nah. I used to work in the entertainment world. Some of the funniest people I know are chicks. Sure there are a lot more male comedians. However, there's a reason for that. To really make a go of it in stand up (you have to "pay your dues" in stand up before you can get lucrative TV gigs), you have to put in hours and years of low paying gigs to build up a name and decent material. Women tend to want to bear and raise children instead of galavanting off to a dinky gig at a podunk college. That's why a lot of the famous comedians who are women don't have kids. It's not a job cut out for mothering.
Nov '11
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
The one thing I don't like in women comics is the pretty/filthy dynamic so many seem to rely on. That is, their entire routing rests on them being a cute, pretty girl who says very offensive vulgar things, and the audience's shock manifests in the form of laughter, so they think they're funny. But they're not funny, they're just pretty girls with dirty mouths, and that gets old fast.
Sep '10
Re: Who's Funnier and Why?
If Rico chicks aren't funny then I want my money back.