List.co.uk – Written by Allan Radcliffe
Standing Out
A means of effecting social change? Or a way to get chicks? Allan Radcliffe talks to a trio of lesbian comedians who are winning over the mainstream
Stand-up comedy has always provided a platform for historically oppressed minorities. From the self-deprecatory Borscht belt humour of Mel Brooks and Rodney Dangerfield through Richard Pryor’s fearless exploration of racism to the feminist material of Lily Tomlin, comics have used humour to engineer change. It’s now a decade since stand-up Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, both publicly and on her own prime-time sitcom, and while the show’s ratings nose-dived shortly afterwards, DeGeneres blazed a trail for openly gay female comedians performing to the masses.