I find it funny that everyone thinks it’s a big deal that Adam Carolla made a statement about not thinking women are funny.  As a female stand-up comedian, I’ve been hearing that statement for years.  So I would like to address the issue and hopefully put it to rest.

I will agree that in our society, being funny is a more valuable trait for men than it is for women.  And there could possibly be more funny men in the world than women (I don’t know the statistics because I’m a women so obviously I’m not good at math).  However, to make a broad statement that women aren’t funny is ridiculous.  If a woman has ever done or said something to intentionally be funny and you have laughed, then women can be funny.  People love to say things like, “I don’t think women are funny, but Sarah Silverman is hilarious.”  You can’t make both of those statements, they both can’t be true.

I’ve never checked it out myself but I believe she is a woman

I think the biggest problem with this issue that people forget is that comedy is an art form.  That means that it is subjective.  Just because you don’t think something is funny doesn’t mean it’s not, it just means that it doesn’t fit your sense of humor.  Personally, I don’t think the Three Stooges are funny, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t, just like it doesn’t mean that I don’t know what is funny.  It’s just like art.  Some people think Jackson Pollack’s paintings are genius, some people think they look like he was just cleaning his brush.  Different strokes for different folks (pun intended, see I made a joke even though I’m a girl).

I wonder if he thought women were funny?

I also think that what you find funny has a lot to do with your own life experiences.  So of course, a man is less likely to identify with a woman’s comedy material than another woman.  It’s the same reason I want to shoot myself every time I hear a male comedian get up on stage and complain about his wife for 40 min.  It’s just not my thing, but some crowds love that stuff. That’s just the way it is.

So I really would love to put an end to this whole “are women funny?” debate, and get back to the important issues like, “can pretty women be funny?”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for my job where people pay me to be funny (even though I’m a girl, go figure).

Feel free to comment/like/share

PS.  If you are a female comedian, I have some beauty tips for you…

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