It’s Twitter! It’s WitStream! It’s fun for a girl or a boy. An essay to end the comedy gender wars.

Either you're funny or you're not. And it's all subjective. But it shouldn't be subjective to whether you have boy parts or girl parts.

I know that. Some of you know it. But there's still some of you who don't.

WitStream founder Lisa Cohen wrote an essay about how Twitter allows women the freedom to be funny without the real-world problems of having a live audience look at them as something other than funny people. And she didn't even point out the fact that online, no one has to see your gender. Ain't technology great?!

Here's where she makes her case:

Well now we have Twitter. Now we can be funny and deactivate that ‚Äúdon‚Äôt say it‚Äù switch that we‚Äôve integrated into so many areas of our lives. Because we‚Äôre only quietly typing it into our computers (not saying it face-to-face) we‚Äôre disinclined to soften the message through tone of voice or a flip of the hair. We don‚Äôt have to see the looks on people‚Äôs faces as they try to figure out why we‚Äôre so desperate as to try and be funny (‚ÄúShe must be lonely and bitter‚Äù). We‚Äôre free. 

Likewise, the people hearing it can get used to this new dimension of womanhood without having to quash their immediate, and potentially negative, reactions. They don’t have to engage their “I’m cool with that” mechanism, when deep down they’re scandalized. They’ll laugh, they just need a moment. And in time, we’ll chip away at the old perceptions. As this stream of real women’s voices becomes the norm, more people will be comfortable laughing, and raising their daughters to unleash their quick wits on the world.

Because yeah: we do have a unique perspective and a different voice. We bleed once a month and we think it‚Äôs gross too. We‚Äôre much meaner than you are, but we‚Äôre smarter about concealing it. Most of us don‚Äôt consider ‚Äúshopaholic‚Äù to be a personality, nor do our life goals include becoming a Real Housewife. We fart and we masturbate. We love our kids more than anything we‚Äôve ever loved before (including you) but we also have to fight the urge to strangle them on a regular basis. We love to work but we‚Äôre terrified of having to be financially responsible for ourselves (even when we make more money than you). Admitting, deconstructing, and laughing about those conflicting emotions is what keeps us sane and happy. 

So you see? Women’s humor isn’t just “my thighs are fat and I can’t get a date.” That’s the safe stuff that both men and women have gotten all too accustomed to. But it ain’t particularly clever or insightful. It’s not that we’ll be content to stay behind our computer screens forever; it serves as the midway point on the road to an infusion of fresh material for all comedians and writers.

We‚Äôre putting our real voices on Twitter, so have a look and be prepared. Men: take your time getting used to it. Women: give it a try. Women‚Äôs Lib is just 140 characters away. 

Read the whole thing. Get on board.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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