Funny Black Women

A question posed on Philosopher's Playground:

Can Women Be Funny?

This one's a sociological question and surely one that varies widely. I'm wondering if Hitchen's observations hold true for upper-class white society. I grew up around a bunch of smart, funny middle-class Jews where a zinger could come from any direction. But then there is a culture of having strong women who speak their minds. I wonder about contemporary African-American culture. Wouldn't surprise me if the norms relating to gender and comedy are different. This one, I'd love to hear anecdotal thoughts on.

My uncle was singing in the shower once, when my mother and her siblings were all teenagers, and my great grandmother Effie Jones told my uncle he sang so bad he could break the heart of a broomstick. This from the same woman who said she liked her coffee like she likes her men - strong, black and sweet.

Black women do fall outside of Hitchens' observations about women and comedy. Narratives about Black women do not hinge on meekness or a penchant for silence, that's for sure. The image of the sharp tongued man-eviscerating Sapphire, the woman who talks too loud is a staple of every B movie that features a minority sidekick, from Boomerang to Bring it On.

Having said that, I'm not exactly complaining. Growing up around women who cultivated the give in give and take, I have a hard time with the cult of femininity that expects meekness, silence, and sweet docility from women.

It's a troubling stereotype though, because another layer to this is the context of Black women's wit, a narrow definition of femininity (upper class white women) that poses a choice. The surrounding culture is a zero sum game; speaking your mind equals ghetto mama, fishwife, not respectable, outside of femininity. And therefore unworthy of the protection that patriarchal society affords the "good girls."

Hopefully that's changing, as beautiful funny women like Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman are doing their thing.

But that raises another question, should attractiveness enter the question at all? Well, we all want to be desirable I suppose. Surely funny can be attractive, these two qualities are not mutually exclusive. But, judging from the showbiz side of comedy, the people who make it as professionals, they certainly are.