Guys say ‘I’m too pretty to do comedy’ because it’s 2017 and people still think girls can’t be funny

With the word “comedian,” there’s often one predominant image: a man standing alone on stage, dressed lazily in a flannel button down shirt, clutching a microphone. He’ll be telling jokes about his crazy ex (lolz!), and chug from a water bottle placed precariously on the stool he’ll later use to thrust against during one of his sex bits (hilarious).

As both a woman and a comedian in Chicago, a city often considered to be the heart of the comedy scene, my involvement has repeatedly been met with surprise. The world may have witnessed dozens of successful comedians over the years with the likes of Lucille Ball, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling or Maya Rudolph (to name a few), yet a funny female is still considered an anomaly.

Apparently women can’t be pretty and funny

My comedic involvement is so ill received, that on multiple occasions I’ve been told by men, “Wait really? You don’t look like you’d be funny.”

Ahh yes, I completely forgot wit was a look I could wear. My bad!

On one occasion I was in an Uber headed to Second City, a main comedy theatre in Chicago, and the driver asked me what show I was seeing. When I explained that I would be performing that night, he made little effort to hide his surprise. “But you’re too pretty to do comedy,” he protested. “You should be a ballerina instead!”

Wow. Thank you, random Uber driver, for knowing me so well as to point out my true calling! Pardon me while I skip on over to the Balshoi auditions. I’ll bet I haven’t missed a beat since I quit dance in seventh grade, surely I’ll still be able to grand jeté with the best of them.

As this backhanded compliment suggests, there are still so many traits women aren’t recognized for, let alone considered capable of possessing – ‘funny’ being one of them. This man felt the need to place me in a category considered graceful, elegant, and overall traditionally “female.” I’ve never once known any of my male comedian friends to be questioned or challenged in this way.

Many other female comedians I spoke with share similar experiences

Lexi, a comedic improviser and actor, explains, “People will see me perform and comment, ‘That one guy in your scene was really funny, and you just looked so beautiful on stage.’ It is just demeaning and tells me they didn’t pay attention to my comedy at all, only the way I looked.”

“When I tell people I do comedy, I usually get a lot of, ‘Woah really? But you look so sweet and innocent!’ types of responses. I have a higher pitched voice and a kind demeanor, so people react as if I’m being corrupted,” said Hanna, an improviser and singer.

It’s as if being a comic immediately implies having a penis

This experience is only further proven in the media. One of the most common questions successful female comics face during interviews is, “What’s it like to be a woman in comedy?”

In so many fields, women are treated as the female version of the norm. Rather than be regarded as fellow comedians, we are women in comedy. An outsider in a foreign land. And when it comes to being a “woman in comedy,” there’s no clear way to succeed. We’re immediately doubted, simply for our gender, and our credibility is judged first and foremost by our looks. From there, we’re either dismissed as too “pretty” to be funny, or deserving of critique for our looks that will outweigh any focus on our work.

‘If you’re funny then prove it’

Women are constantly challenged with the task to “prove” their legitimacy in the field before they can even be judged for their creative work.

Myriam, a stand up comedian, explains, “I’ve flat out been told, ‘Women aren’t funny. Say something funny.’”

It is exactly these responses that attempt to pigeonhole women and dictate not only our careers and pursuits, but also our personalities

Improviser and actress Analisha explains this further.

“I think people can’t wrap their mind around women in this field, because comedy requires assertiveness, command and big risk- all still thought of as masculine traits.”

Comedy certainly requires all of these qualities, and without a doubt, I know and admire countless women who posses them. It’s 2017, and it’s beyond time we stop gendering personality traits, skills and professions.

As far as a funny women are concerned? Let’s spend a little less time asking about her gender, and a lot more time listening to her jokes. Who knows, she just might make you laugh.