When female comedians skewer the idea of what it’s like to be a female comedian

It’s not easy being a woman in a male-dominated profession, and comedy is no different. Except that it certainly feels different. Because even when women in comedy are funny and try to make fun of this situation, it can go awry. Like, oh, I don’t know, take today’s offering on Funny or Die, which puts “A Day in the Life of a Female Comedian” on the home page — starring funny comedians Amy Schumer, Nikki Glaser and Jackie Monahan as themselves, being schooled on comedy by the brilliant Maria Bamford. They skewer the gender politics of comedy.

Should be a winner, right? Well, of the first 12,000-some views, it’s only earning a 57% rating on Funny or Die. I guess this is why the site disables “Funny or Die” voting on its “Chosen Ones” videos. No. I don’t guess that’s why. That is why. Nor do I guess that Funny or Die seemed like a totally awesome concept to a frat boy with a father who had access to millions of dollars in venture capital.

I know putting videos to a vote of the masses ensures more clicks, and the Internet is all about clicking and refreshing page-view counts as often as possible, but can’t there be somewhere in the creative world where the powers that be just say, look, we’re only going to show you the good stuff so there’s no need for you to vote or even have to deal with bookmarking 20 other sites that showcase videos. Just come here. We’ll curate the best of the best and save you the time and effort, so you can make more room in your schedule to do the things you need to be doing when you’re not having fun here.

Oops. Got off topic there for a second. Or did I?

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.

View all posts by Sean L. McCarthy →

2 thoughts on “When female comedians skewer the idea of what it’s like to be a female comedian

Comments are closed.