Why Can’t Female Comedians Be Just As Dirty As The Guys?, by Brian Lowry
Sarah Silverman has never been a comedian to shy away from explicit content, nor should she be. The virtue of a comedian of any kind is there ability to choose a style of comedy suited to their persona, to which the audience can assign themselves, rather than the other way around. This by no means renders a comedian infallible, but rather gives then artistic license and unprecedented freedom of speech. In short, comedy can be an art form that has the potential to both support and refute societal values and views.
Brian Lowry’s review of Silverman’s new show, ‘We Are Miracles’, therefore, rests on absurd foundations. Lowry is a TV Columnist for Variety. Whilst it is impossible to discredit his critique based on his lacking expertise, it is important to understand that the review, as always, forms a subjective discourse. The lack of expertise, however, increases the subjectivity of the article; Lowry focuses neither on the production or the mechanisms of the programme, but on his opinion of the comedy. He becomes a lay-critic, one who focuses simply on what they see and hear, without regard to the medium as a whole.
Brian Lowry’s review of Silverman’s new show, ‘We Are Miracles’, therefore, rests on absurd foundations. Lowry is a TV Columnist for Variety. Whilst it is impossible to discredit his critique based on his lacking expertise, it is important to understand that the review, as always, forms a subjective discourse. The lack of expertise, however, increases the subjectivity of the article; Lowry focuses neither on the production or the mechanisms of the programme, but on his opinion of the comedy. He becomes a lay-critic, one who focuses simply on what they see and hear, without regard to the medium as a whole.
Lowry, therefore, implicitly gives credence to the idea that all men, regardless of whether or not their comedy hinges on such a style, can be ‘dirty’
In this vain, all criticism is absurd, thus it becomes seemingly irrelevant, perhaps, to postulate such a theory, particularly in the paradigms of this essay itself. Unfortunately, Lowry does not stop at his own shortcomings, but rather moves his criticism from the absurd to the misogynistic in one fatal generalisation:
Sarah Silverman’s Bad Career Move: Being as Dirty as the Guys
The comparison has created cause for concern, particularly across online forums. Some have suggested that Lowry was simply stating that Silverman was not a particularly funny comedian. Yet, it is the blatant disregard for the semantics of the title alone that is almost as bad as the statement itself.
The headline does not simply suggest Silverman’s comedy as unfunny in the eyes of Lowry. It explicitly genders her, not comparing her to another comedian, but to the entire male sex as a whole. Lowry, therefore, implicitly gives credence to the idea that all men, regardless of whether or not their comedy hinges on such a style, can be ‘dirty’, but for women ‘dirty’ comedy is selective. This is typified when, despite his scathing attack on the un-ladylike nature of Silverman, he claimed, “this isn’t meant to suggest that female comics can’t work blue.”
Naturally, Lowry tacitly indicates that this is, in fact, the exact mantra that he holds. It runs along a similar line as “I don’t want to be offensive, but…” - the apologias of someone clearly aware of their work’s subversive offense. He continues to single Silverman out as a comedian capable of achieving greater success as a comedian than her current status if she used the “tools” she had to do more. It became arms to his defenders, the proud beacon that Lowry was imparting professional comedic advice to Silverman.
Sarah Silverman’s Bad Career Move: Being as Dirty as the Guys
The comparison has created cause for concern, particularly across online forums. Some have suggested that Lowry was simply stating that Silverman was not a particularly funny comedian. Yet, it is the blatant disregard for the semantics of the title alone that is almost as bad as the statement itself.
The headline does not simply suggest Silverman’s comedy as unfunny in the eyes of Lowry. It explicitly genders her, not comparing her to another comedian, but to the entire male sex as a whole. Lowry, therefore, implicitly gives credence to the idea that all men, regardless of whether or not their comedy hinges on such a style, can be ‘dirty’, but for women ‘dirty’ comedy is selective. This is typified when, despite his scathing attack on the un-ladylike nature of Silverman, he claimed, “this isn’t meant to suggest that female comics can’t work blue.”
Naturally, Lowry tacitly indicates that this is, in fact, the exact mantra that he holds. It runs along a similar line as “I don’t want to be offensive, but…” - the apologias of someone clearly aware of their work’s subversive offense. He continues to single Silverman out as a comedian capable of achieving greater success as a comedian than her current status if she used the “tools” she had to do more. It became arms to his defenders, the proud beacon that Lowry was imparting professional comedic advice to Silverman.
the 43-year-old comic has made it clear that she’d “rather do stand-up than say this shitty exposition for bad writing”
Of course, Silverman at no point asked for Lowry’s advice on where her career ought to be, and where it might be heading. In fact, the 43-year-old comic has made it clear that she’d “rather do stand-up than say this shitty exposition for bad writing”, with reference to the comedy series offered to her. As with most comedians, undoubtedly it is less about significantly changing an act to fit the mainstream, but the mainstream becoming aware and receptive to your act. Louis CK is the most recent of a long list of comedians to have hit the mainstream from seeming obscurity. So, why is Silverman any different?
Perhaps worst still is the concept that only men have maintained a tradition of ‘blue’ comedy. In her recent documentary, “Joan Rivers: a Piece of Work”, the 80 year old comedy legend revealed that two time Oscar winning actor Jack Lemmon walked out of her stand-up, finding her jokes offensive. In particular, a joke about Rivers’ willingness to sleep to the top was highlighted. Rivers’ responded in an interview in 2010 to a question regarding the event, highlighting that “he was a man. He doesn’t know what women go through”.
The line of female comedians entering ‘masculine’ comedy successfully does not even begin with Rivers, but extends back to the late Phyllis Diller, a heavy comedic influence on Rivers. It seems absurd, therefore, for Lowry to assert that ‘blue’ comedy is the paradigm of male comics. For almost a century, female comics have managed, with varied success, to enter the mainstream with their own comedy, some of which was indeed blue. Joan Rivers is certainly a comic known for her extensive range of blue language.
If Sarah Silverman uses the word “cunt” in her stand-up, Lowry has little grounds to object simply because it’s a word that belongs to masculine discourse. If anything, he should applaud that Silverman, alongside Rivers, Griffin, and other female comedians, show an attitude that not only do they belong alongside male comics, but there is a form of comedy that belongs entirely to them. If cunt is part of “guys” comedy, then it is so because of flagrant patriarchy. Female comics have far more rights to such a word than male comics on a simple linguistic level.
Yet few comedians would argue such. After all, is comedy not one of the greatest means to subversively comment on society? It remains, by-and-large, a true expression of free speech. Lowry’s attempt to stamp on Silverman highlights how far the media and perceptions of comedians must come, but Silverman, along with other female comedians and their supporters, signify how little they really give a shit.
Perhaps worst still is the concept that only men have maintained a tradition of ‘blue’ comedy. In her recent documentary, “Joan Rivers: a Piece of Work”, the 80 year old comedy legend revealed that two time Oscar winning actor Jack Lemmon walked out of her stand-up, finding her jokes offensive. In particular, a joke about Rivers’ willingness to sleep to the top was highlighted. Rivers’ responded in an interview in 2010 to a question regarding the event, highlighting that “he was a man. He doesn’t know what women go through”.
The line of female comedians entering ‘masculine’ comedy successfully does not even begin with Rivers, but extends back to the late Phyllis Diller, a heavy comedic influence on Rivers. It seems absurd, therefore, for Lowry to assert that ‘blue’ comedy is the paradigm of male comics. For almost a century, female comics have managed, with varied success, to enter the mainstream with their own comedy, some of which was indeed blue. Joan Rivers is certainly a comic known for her extensive range of blue language.
If Sarah Silverman uses the word “cunt” in her stand-up, Lowry has little grounds to object simply because it’s a word that belongs to masculine discourse. If anything, he should applaud that Silverman, alongside Rivers, Griffin, and other female comedians, show an attitude that not only do they belong alongside male comics, but there is a form of comedy that belongs entirely to them. If cunt is part of “guys” comedy, then it is so because of flagrant patriarchy. Female comics have far more rights to such a word than male comics on a simple linguistic level.
Yet few comedians would argue such. After all, is comedy not one of the greatest means to subversively comment on society? It remains, by-and-large, a true expression of free speech. Lowry’s attempt to stamp on Silverman highlights how far the media and perceptions of comedians must come, but Silverman, along with other female comedians and their supporters, signify how little they really give a shit.