The headline of comedian Adam Carolla's recent interview with The New York Post, "The Man's Man," raises some red flags. But the title of the article isn't nearly as troublesome as the content within. When asked if he hates working with women, here was Carolla's reply:
No. But they make you hire a certain number of chicks, and they’re always the least funny on the writing staff. The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks. If my daughter has a mediocre sense of humor, I’m just gonna tell her, “Be a staff writer for a sitcom. Because they’ll have to hire you, they can’t really fire you, and you don’t have to produce that much. It’ll be awesome.
According to Carolla, women just aren't funny. He thinks the bar is set lower for women, and that if Roseanne Barr were a man, she wouldn't even be famous. He goes on to say that popular female comics, including Kathy Griffin and Tina Fey, are simply exceptions to the rule.
Carolla, who is currently promoting his new book Not Taco Bell Material, is no stranger to controversy. He has a history of telling anti-woman and anti-gay jokes. His most recent comments created a stir on Twitter, with several female comics and groups speaking out against or just plain mocking him.
Wait, Adam Carolla, is he the one who did the voice of the parrot in Aladdin??? He makes me giggle.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) June 19, 2012
actually, a shout out to all funny male comics whom I love:every other guy comic except Adam Carolla
— Roseanne Barr (@TheRealRoseanne) June 19, 2012
Breaking: Adam Carolla being vetted as Romney's Number 2.
— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) June 19, 2012
Hey @adamcarolla, 95% of film and 88% of TV in 2011 was directed by men. Maybe that's why you don't know more funny women?
— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) June 20, 2012
Women are funny. Just ask the sold-out audiences gathered to see hilarious comics like Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho. So why aren't there more females in comedy? Come to think of it, why aren't there more women in the entertainment industry as a whole? Men not only dominate the boardrooms of all major media outlets, they also constitute the vast majority of writers and directors. When the media in our culture is created, directed and produced by a single group, namely white men, they will ultimately create a product that is reflective of themselves. When representations of people outside of the group are offered, they're limiting and stereotypical. This is a fair assessment of the current media landscape. With a little unpacking, it isn't hard to discover that when Adam Carolla looks around and sees a dearth of women in comedy, it isn't because they aren't funny.
Is comedy different from the rest of the media, though? Some would have you think so. Many comics say that it's all about the work you put into it, and that if a woman were as funny as a man, she would be treated that way. On a recent episode of her Bravo talkshow, Kathy Griffin asked her comedienne guests Chelsea Handler and Whitney Cummings what they thought about the state of women in comedy. Handler, the host of the daily E! late-night roundtable Chelsea Lately which consistently features women comics, argued that the disparity was due, at least in part, to women's unwillingness to live the life of a stand-up comic. Griffin smartly replied that her female friends saw The Hangover but her straight, male friends refused to see Bridesmaids. With this, she hits the nail on the head. Much of the blame for women having less opportunity in the entertainment industry rests on the shoulders of a culture that has taught its men that its women aren't interesting or funny.
Yes, Adam Carolla is a sexist, but this isn't an individual problem. He didn't come up with these ideas on his own. We have a lot of work to do as a society before we'll see real and equal representation of women in comedy and the media as a whole. Calling out the pigs is only the first step. We also have to teach our kids something different.
Is comedy different from the rest of the media, though? Some would have you think so. Many comics say that it's all about the work you put into it, and that if a woman were as funny as a man, she would be treated that way. On a recent episode of her Bravo talkshow, Kathy Griffin asked her comedienne guests Chelsea Handler and Whitney Cummings what they thought about the state of women in comedy. Handler, the host of the daily E! late-night roundtable Chelsea Lately which consistently features women comics, argued that the disparity was due, at least in part, to women's unwillingness to live the life of a stand-up comic. Griffin smartly replied that her female friends saw The Hangover but her straight, male friends refused to see Bridesmaids. With this, she hits the nail on the head. Much of the blame for women having less opportunity in the entertainment industry rests on the shoulders of a culture that has taught its men that its women aren't interesting or funny.
Yes, Adam Carolla is a sexist, but this isn't an individual problem. He didn't come up with these ideas on his own. We have a lot of work to do as a society before we'll see real and equal representation of women in comedy and the media as a whole. Calling out the pigs is only the first step. We also have to teach our kids something different.
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