Pretty AND Funny, An Impossible Goal Or An Age-Old Prejudice?

Hi my beauties,

Right, let me start by saying the daily thing last week definitely didn't work, I'm just too busy to committ to a daily post, but I hoped you liked it anyway! Today, a thought post, which I do enjoy writing just as much as my beauty ones, as this means I just get to speak my mind without the distraction of making sure I'm covering all the angles of reviewing a product and making sure I'm representing it properly to you!

I've read a few articles recently about the idea that there are too few female comedians on panel shows, which has eventually led to the BBC banning all male panel shows, which will certainly have an effect on all the major comedy shows such as '8 Out Of 10 Cats' and 'Mock The Week'.

The statistics certainly show there to be a large difference between male contestants and female ones, with often only one or no women appearing on each show, while all of the main recurring panelists are all men, for the large network shows. So what problems does this cause? Are we overreacting to a natural tendency in the sexes, or does this reveal the innate sexism within our society? (Note: neither of which I'm stating as my opinion, rhetorical!)

The move from the BBC has certainly had a rather large backlash, but mainly from women, rather than men. The majority of comments are from females, and all the top rated ones say things like:

"The problem is women just aren't funny!"

"Oh god, this is so embarassing, I apologise on behalf of women!"

"There are just fewer female comedians, for good reason!"

Personally I think this is the worst thing about this whole situation. There seems to be this inherent 'embarassment' from some women when anyone even analyses a clear statistic of inequality. I'm not saying we should all hold hands and burn our bras, but I don't think anyone, male or female, should disregard anyone when there are clear figures supporting their opinion. I also feel there is often an ulterior motive behind comments like this, which is that I often find people think that pointing out any inequality between the sexes, is somehow unattractive, especially with things like "I apologise on behalf of women!"

Or is it that we think funny women just aren't attractive. Is it actually possible to be both? I remember watching a program once, a sort of X Factor for stand-up comedians, but without all the corruption and annoying crying. There was one woman who was quite funny, but every week, there seemed to be some comment about how she needed to make herself 'less pretty', coming straight from the female judges' mouth! However, we have to admit, it does seem like a trend with women in comedy to relentlessly make fun of the way they look. Jo Brand is a great example of this, and often Sarah Millican, but on a slightly smaller scale. But then, I stop and think, is this just the girls? How many times have you seen a male comedian in a shirtless advert, or in a cologne tv ad donning a suit and preening in the mirror? Not often I bet. It seems that it's a similar situation for both sexes, but we focus much harder on the girls, because it's somehow much more strange for us to not want to be pretty? The truth is, self-deprecation is funny. It's funnier when it's obvious.

Let's talk about the central issue here, inequality. Yes it is there. There is no denying it really. But, is it a negative thing? I suppose the word 'inequality' might be the wrong word to use, but I just mean 'difference'. The fact is we see it everywhere. If you walk down the high street there are ten times more clothes shops for women, rather than men. But I've never heard someone saying it's a particularly negative thing. The shops aren't saying 'WOMEN ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT SHOP, YOU BIG SHOPAHOLICS!'. It's just something that is there, and I won't complain!

The big question is, do we, as viewers, feel that these shows are oppressing us/girls? I have never watched an episode of Mock The Week and felt angered by their misrepresentation of women. I've never watched a stand-up comedy show and groaned when the one female comedian came out. I suppose it's because, at this point, I'm not looking at them as female and male comedians, but simply, comedians.

I suppose that we might not have all the facts here. If female comedians themselves feel that they are constantly being judged for what's in their knickers, not in their heads, and feel they are denied work simply because of their gender, then we have a problem. But unless that is the case, I'm not sure a problem should be created where there isn't one. Can we not look at these people, as just funny people?