Awesome Lady Stand-Ups

A little while back, I saw that a facebook friend had changed her status to something complaining about women stand-up comedians, lamenting that none of them were funny and all they ever joked about were their periods.

It took every fiber of my being not to tell tell her to f-off.


The only way that someone could make a comment like that and genuinely believe it is if their only experience with stand-up comedy is from watching Just For Laughs reruns from the 1990s and from seeing this (annoying, out of touch) Kotex commercial:

Seriously, if all you know about stand-up comedy is from a tampon commercial, then you need to STFU about women comedians.


The ignorant status inspired Matthew & I however, and so here is The Skinny Chai's In-No-Particular-Order List of Awesome Lady Stand-Ups!


Marg's Picks are in orange, Matt's Picks are in green.

Jo Brand

Brand is a BAFTA winning actress/writer/stand-up who used to be psychiatric nurse, and she's very, very funny. With a very dry approach, Brand discusses politics, relationships, and pop culture. Check out her amazing series Getting On. Enjoy some of her patented self-deprecation and wit below:

Joan Rivers

I don't think you can have a list of funny females without including Joan freaking Rivers. She has been making people laugh since the 50's, and has never missed a beat. Sure, she might be famous for her red carpet jabs and ever changing face, but bottom line is that she's f-ing funny. Her main topics include: celebrity, ageing, sex & plastic surgery. P.S- if you haven't checked out her doc A Piece of Work- do it! It's hilarious, insightful and heartbreaking. A great look into the business of stand-ups.



Sarah Millican:

Millican had never stepped foot inside a comedy club before her debut show in 2004 which came after the end of her marriage - she found her voice and has since become a frequent panelist on shows like QI, Would I Lie To You, and the like. She's delightfully unassuming and odd, and has a very sweet stage presence, a wonderful juxtaposition from some of her subject matter.

Phyllis Diller 

One of the first majorly successful female stand-ups, there isn't a lady on this list who hasn't been influenced by Diller. Starting out in 1952 she connected with audiences by bringing out the humour in the day to day life of suburban families. This past Fall Diller was honoured on The Rosie Show. An appearance that showed audiences that at the age of 94 her razor sharp tongue is still in tact and her trademark cackle isn't fading away anytime soon.

 

Shappi Khorsandi

A British-Iranian comedienne, Khorsandi jokes about politics and divorce and terrorism (in a good way!) - she's clever and her delivery wouldn't be out of place coming from the funniest, most sophisticated guest at a dinner party.

Margaret Cho

I remember being about 15 when Cho's special I'm The One That I Want came on tv, and I had never laughed so hard in my life. She was unlike anyone that I had ever seen, and she spoke about topics that nobody else was speaking about. While she's famous for her impressions of her mother (hilarious btw), her main message is about loving yourself for who you are and what you look like, and not to  let others bring you down.

Kristen Schaal

Baby voiced and lispy, Schaal has made a name for herself on Flight of the Concords, The Daily Show, and 30 Rock - her stand up is as weird as you would expect - totally adorable but more than a little creepy.

Nikki Payne
A Canadian shout out! And she's from the east coast! Nikki Payne took what life threw at her and made it into an act. Payne has an obvious lisp, and instead of "fixing" it or hiding in a corner, she's using it to her advantage because now it's her trademark. She is brassy and ballsy, and doesn't hold back.
    

Chelsea Peretti

Peretti is a writer on Parks and Rec, and she makes me laugh on twitter! Starting at the 3:50 mark of the video below (but, watch the whole thing) she makes a hilarious and brilliant comment of the way that audiences expect their comedy delivered to them - specifically, not coming from a woman.  

Wanda Sykes
An accomplished actress, Sykes' main gig is stand-up. She has a unique whit that is all her own, and landed in Entertainment Weekly's list of the 25 funniest people in America. An Emmy winner for her writing, she's unafraid to speak her mind and tell her opinions, all without being offensive to others. A fine line not to cross.
   

On a final note, this list is so far from being complete that it is a sin. We had to limit ourselves to 5 choices each just so that this entire blog didn't become one giant list of funny women. The amazing thing about stand-up is how there is always a new voice out there to be heard. Matthew and I both brought women with different styles, levels of fame, subject matter, and backgrounds to this list, (he picked a lot of legends, I picked a lot of Brits!)  but we haven't heard of everybody! Have a favourite we left out? Comment and tell us about her!

-Marg, @acuteinsomnia and Matthew, @thematthewjames