We believe that we’ve discovered something very special here at Funny Women. After our recent 10th Anniversary Charity Challenge event where 10 women from all different walks of life performed comedy, we were fascinated by the fact that various men immediately came forward to volunteer themselves to a similar sort of fate! Never shirking a Challenge ourselves, we’ve decided that we’ll take on the men and stage another fantastic Challenge event later this year.
We really believe that business men could really gain from an understanding of women’s humour when it comes to communicating in the workplace, which is why our male Challengers will be coached and supported by women. It will be their opportunity to eschew the world of witty male banter with a few beers in front of Match of the Day, and swap it for a glass of champagne and a few episodes of Sex in the City.
It’s no accident that some of our most popular male comics are in touch with their feminine side: Michael McIntyre, Peter Kay and Dame Edna, aka Barry Humphries. These men all appeal to the fairer sex because of their humour. The ‘man draw’, and ‘dad dancing’ self-deprecating style of humour and the bitchy wit of a ‘drag queen’ is the perfect, non-threatening style of comedy which works on an empathetic level that women really appreciate. Just imagine this transferred to the boardroom! Eddie Izzard for chief executive, half man, half woman!
Then there’s the ‘Gay Best Friends’ of male comedy: Graham Norton, Alan Carr, the late great Larry Grayson and more. It’s no great surprise that sexual ambiguity goes hand in hand with every woman’s idea of the perfect host – gossip rather than macho banter is far more appealing.
Men who listen to what women have to say are more open, less dictatorial and more likely to lead fulfilling lives. An understanding of how women use humour helps them to achieve this. Plus if they have an insight of how difficult it can be for some women to find their voice, with or without humour, we can create a space in which men and women can be more emotionally and professionally equal. By learning to appreciate how the opposite sex uses humour, we can laugh and work together more freely.
So this will be our next Challenge – up to 10 men from the worlds of business, media, academia and sport will be taken under the maternal wings of Funny Women to find their female funny! They will receive the same level of support and mentoring as their female counterparts did in March and we’ll be packaging it all up in another Charity Challenge event scheduled for mid-November. Date and location to be confirmed, and we’re seeking out our brave male Challengers as this goes to press!
We will be announcing our confirmed Challengers in the next couple of weeks. If you know of any men who you’d like to ‘volunteer’ please get in touch!
