Hardly a day goes by when I don’t address the ‘why women aren’t funny’ question. It’s taken me 15 years of running Funny Women to realise that women are often complicit in this perception. Not only are we afraid or risk averse to performing comedy, we also fear the funny in other ways too.
A few years ago, a friend told me that she ‘didn’t like laughing’ when I asked her why she never came to any of my comedy gigs. Far from being offended, I felt sad for her as not allowing yourself to enjoy a good laugh is like cutting off a limb. I have been unpacking this ever since.
Making people laugh, and indeed laughter, is a fundamental reflex and a vital part of human behaviour. We laugh when we are happy and amused, we also laugh when we are embarrassed, shocked, hurt, nervous, angry or grieving. Our body’s sensitive endocrine system ensures that we release the right amount of happy hormones to balance out the stress hormones. When the mix isn’t right we can laugh so much we cry, or even have a little wee to excrete the excess.
The consequences of not laughing are unthinkable. Heart disease and other digestive problems are exacerbated by the over production of cortisol in response to stress which in turn means your body lays down fat around your vital organs to protect them. The buildup of emotional tension can also have a catastrophic impact on your mental health.
Everybody can find something to laugh about and we shouldn’t be judgmental or guarded. From what we watch on the telly to our interactions around the boardroom table, humour is our humanity and our lifeblood. In my book, leaders who can successfully deploy humour, not restricted to carefully constructed politically-loaded jokes written by special advisors, are more likely to get supporters and affect change. ‘I like them, they’re funny’ is a commonly heard compliment during election time.
In leadership and negotiation, all the emotional ‘hot air’ has to go somewhere and getting people to laugh along with you is an excellent way to relieve tension and generate a sense of wellbeing with your audiences. Otherwise it builds up, physically and emotionally.
So back to the women – we laugh with each other readily and easily. It’s common for us to use humour to support, communicate and encourage other women within our communities. It’s not been so common to laugh at other women, unless it’s to ridicule or unnerve them in some way. We often view female comics with a degree of suspicion.
It’s time we learned the power of humour and embraced what funny women can offer the world. I know from running events and workshops in the workplace that men find out far more about how women colleagues tick from having a laugh together.
I believe that using humour is the key to relieving misogyny and increases understanding of what women have to offer professionally. Comedy is all about culture and culture is a reflection of our society. When men laugh along with women, it means that they are really listening to what we have to say, and they are also open to what we offer intellectually.
We, in turn, have to embrace our female humour and find ways to externalise and exploit this for the benefit of humanity. Laughter has always helped us to cope with the messier side of life so a bit of well-placed humour in the workplace can really make you stand out from the crowd.
My next Stand Up to Stand Out workshop takes place on Saturday 24th February at Hoxton Hall, as part of the Female Parts Festival. Details of how to book are here.
