Women in comedy: current findings

An article about the role of women in comedy might seem like a topic that's been overdone in recent feature writing or one that no longer needs to be addressed. Female-led sitcoms are popping up on every major cable network — even Betty White has her own TV show.

But as one delves into the world of comedy, it's clear that there's still a divide between female and male comedians. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impersonation is one of the most memorable sketches in recent Saturday Night Live history, but the show only has five female actresses out of 14 permanent cast members, and that's including the latest cast addition, Kate McKinnon. As Tina Fey noted when she hosted, SNL is still very much a "boy's club," as is the field of comedy.

Other shows, like Krysten Ritter's new Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 and Mindy Kaling's upcoming Fox sitcom, were in production years ago and are only now reaching the air because of scheduling issues. Abby Elliot, one of the female SNL actresses, had a Fox sitcom pilot in the works that was cancelled before it even aired. Yes, women in comedy are making strides, but there are still a lot more steps that need to be taken.

The inspiration to begin work on this article came from a variety of sources.

I recently read Mindy Kaling's book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, in which she discusses writing for The Office and being a guest writer for SNL as well as what it was like to be interested in comedy as a child.

The January issue of Elle included a wonderful feature on improv comedy, focusing on the achievements of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Kristen Wiig and Seth Meyers in February's Vogue, as photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

In February's Vogue, legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz shot Kristen Wiig and Seth Myers for an editorial profile on Wiig by Eve MacSweeney.

But sources like Vulture's weekly New Girl recaps are what remindme that women have a lot more work to do to be taken as seriously as men. Izzy Greenspan often quips that the show would more aptly be titled New Schimdt, because even a dream actress like Zooey Deschanel can't command her own show, and her unknown supporting actors end up stealing the scenes.

Other sources I'll be using in the article are the 2010 Saturday Night Live "Women in Comedy" special and the 2011 meta episode of 30 Rock in which "The Girlie Show" addresses the question of women in comedy. I am also working on getting in touch with local comedy groups like CHiPS and DSI Comedy Theater as well as examining the work of comedians who visit college campuses to perform standup routines and the success of males vs. females doing similar acts (ex. Aziz Ansari being received much more positively than Mindy Kaling). I'd like to include female-led sitcoms like New Girl, Whitney, 2 Broke Girls, Are You There Chelsea? and the mini-series Best Friends Forever, which I discovered through Dr. Smith's recommended Salon.com article praising the new show.

I also contacted Mark Washburn at the Charlotte Observer last week, so hopefully I will hear back from him and be able to utilize his vast entertainment knowledge.

I'd also like to look into HBO's new series Girls and compare the portrayal of women in this series versus another HBO success — Sex and the City. When writing a recent article on Sexual Assault Awareness Month for USA TODAY College, I began to realize that in many of these female sitcoms, women have to act like men in order to be considered funny, including telling rape jokes as in 2 Broke Girls or making inappropriate jokes out of bodily functions as in Bridesmaids. In the ideal comedy, gender wouldn't matter, and we would just recognize someone as funny no matter who they were, and that's something the entertainment industry needs to set as a goal.