1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to stop? Mom? Never told you? 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: From housetop works dot com. Hey, welcome to the podcast. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: This is Molly and I'm Kristin Chris, and I have 5 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: a joke for you. Okay, how many feminists does it 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: take to through in a light bulb? I don't. I 7 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: don't know, Molly. That's not funny, because are you saying 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: that feminists are serious? There's there's a stereotype that feminists 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 1: are not funny, that they have the sense of humor 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: about what noodle? Well, based on that joke, I'm questioning 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: your sense of humor to Molly right now. I actually 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: can't remember jokes very well. Yeah, it's a it's a problem. 13 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: It's a lot of pressure if someone asks you to 14 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: tell them a funny joke, because it's a lot of 15 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: pressure to be funny on the spot. Yeah. The only 16 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: joke I can ever remember by um, by memory. Do 17 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: you want to hear it? It's not much better than 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: the feminist one. Okay, go for it. Why did the 19 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: cookie cry? I don't know, because his mother had been 20 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: away for so long. Oh, Mom was way for like 21 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: a Nilo wafer. All Right, Molly, we're gonna have to 22 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: work on on your on your joke joke. But the 23 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: thing is, I don't I don't pretend to be funny. 24 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: I haven't made a career out of it. But the 25 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: reason that we yet exactly, but the reason we were 26 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: going to talk about funny women today is because of 27 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: something that was in the news this week, the week 28 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: we were recording, and that is that, Um, it was 29 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: sort of a good news bad news situation. First, we 30 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: were reading all these news posts that Saturday Night Live 31 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: had hired two new women next year's cast. Then we 32 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: read that these were not additional women. These women were 33 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: taking the place of two women that they fired, Casey 34 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: Wilson and MICHAELA. Watkins. Yeah. Um, and you know, no 35 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: one really knows why they got fired. They're just they're 36 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: giving out nice little sound bites right now about you know, 37 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: it was an honor to be there or whatever making 38 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: the next move. I mean, in my opinion, there were 39 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: some unfunny people that could have maybe gone before them. Sure, 40 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: And and now that now that it's been a little 41 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: while since the news broke, people are starting to question 42 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: why exactly these women were fired and why it seemed 43 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: like they were replaced by two perhaps prettier and um 44 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: thinner uh female comedians. Right, so they're saying that maybe 45 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: maybe S and L really wasn't as concerned about the 46 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: joke telling, but more um, their appearance. Right, there was 47 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: a rumor, I mean, we're considering the source on this one, 48 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: since it was E Entertainment television, Um, the number one 49 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 1: source for news really well, I mean speak for yourself, 50 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: person um that perhaps Ksey Wilson was asked to lose 51 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 1: weight and didn't. Awkward. We don't know if that's true 52 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: or not, but um, you know, let's let's set that aside. 53 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: This was sort of the jumping off point, but it 54 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: brings up this age old question are women funny? So 55 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: I googled this question are women funny? And you can 56 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: pull up all these really weird old articles from the 57 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: New York Times. From this was a headline in the 58 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: New York Times, women said of humor. It is frequently 59 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: alleged that she does not possess any American facts to 60 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: contradict this, And I mean that was the headline in 61 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: the New York Times. Facts the contradicted. Okay, their facts 62 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: were just a list of people they found funny, basically, 63 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: and I haven't heard of any of them. Yeah, okay. Um, 64 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: but this idea was sort of popularized in two thousand 65 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: seven with the Christopher Hitchens essay and Vanity Fair called 66 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: why Women Aren't Funny? And you know, Christopher Hitchins, let's 67 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 1: take him with a grain of salt, just as we 68 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: would take the entertainment television with a grain of solid 69 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: He's pretty divisive. Yeah, And and basically, hitchins whole thesis 70 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: is that since women are the child bearers, we cannot 71 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: biologically risk the frivolity of humor. Oh yes, because we 72 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: are just tasked with, um, the most important task in life, 73 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: raising children. He has a sentence that kind of bothered 74 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: me about how men know that um. A placentis filled 75 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: with brain cells because as women become pregnant have this 76 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: plus sent to feeding their child, all the women's brain 77 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: cells go down to the placenta and are ejected from 78 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: the body and childbirth. So funny, funny and stupid, Chris, 79 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: So Chris. But the thing is, you know, if women 80 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:15,839 Speaker 1: were to be funny, they'd have to be funny about 81 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: their own experience, which is raising children, and it's immediately 82 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: not funny as soon as you know a child dies. Yeah, 83 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: but I mean even he said, you know, every new mother, 84 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: if they're talking about the funny thing their kid did, 85 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: it's never really that funny. And on top of that, 86 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: Hitchens argues that men have a need to be funny 87 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: because that is their one way of attracting a female. Right, 88 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: women can be pretty, so they don't need to be 89 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: funny like women. Yeah, And then he points to this 90 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: uh very small study UM that was conducted at the 91 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: Stanford University School of Medicine UM that was based on 92 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: the responses of only ten men and ten women, and 93 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: it found that women and men have the same humor response, 94 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: but that in women we have more activity in the 95 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: left prefrontal cortex, suggesting a greater emphasis on language and 96 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: executive processing, and in the nucleus incumbents, which is part 97 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: of our rewards center. So basically, we aren't expecting as 98 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: much reward when we hear a joke, and so when 99 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: we finally get to the punch line, we you know, 100 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: we like react more. I guess, and UM are also 101 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: quicker to point out stuff that is unfunny. So I 102 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: think he's trying to say that we women are just 103 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: kind of kind of slow and just by that nature 104 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: not going to be as good at telling a joke. Well, 105 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: how can you be quick when you've got a baby 106 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: and take care of that's right? I mean, yeah, you 107 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: can pay attention. But you know, you know how Chris 108 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: and I love our studies, so we did try and 109 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: devote some time to finding, you know, studies about women 110 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: in comedy, and there really aren't any, right, really, I was. 111 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: I scoured um are our magical internet sources, and I 112 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: was very disappointed to find the lack of of studies 113 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 1: on comedy and women. But it might just be because 114 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: comedy is such a subjective field to study. Who's to 115 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: say that, you know, some person who thinks Sarah Silverman 116 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: is hilarious, you know, might think Tina Fey is you know, boring, 117 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: is grass right, which is why you know, there's sort 118 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: of an inherent difficulty that Hitchen. Hitchens based his argument 119 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: on this pretty small study. The only study I found 120 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: when I was looking for studies on comedy women was 121 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: a study UM titled Women's Comedy Preferences during the menstrual cycle, 122 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: and it was about how they presented women having their 123 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,119 Speaker 1: period with comedy, drama, and game show programs and asked 124 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: them which would you rather watch, and the women chose comedy. 125 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: So the study went, these women must want comedy to 126 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:46,119 Speaker 1: relieve the cramps and achiness and miserableness of having a period. Wow. 127 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: I mean, if that's the kind of study we got 128 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: to pull it from, I just we were at a disadvantage. 129 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: I would say. But on a side note, only if 130 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: you have cramps, you might not want to be laughing 131 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: really hard. That's just my own my own takeaway from that. 132 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: Whether I have ramps are not there, I really don't 133 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,039 Speaker 1: want to watch a game show, right, probably, like that 134 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: was one of the options. But then there's and then 135 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: going back one more time to two hitchens. Um, he's 136 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: saying to that, uh that men don't want women to 137 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: be funny, right, you know they they view humor as 138 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: this kind of competition between other males to see who 139 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: can be the funniest and women just need to sit 140 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: back and be um their captive audience. And that was 141 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: sort of echoed in um studies that we ran across 142 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: in psychology today that said that both men and women 143 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: value humor equally but in different ways. Like women um 144 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: value humor as a trait and a potential um mate 145 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: because they want to be you know, they want the 146 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: man to to make them laugh. And men more appreciate 147 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: humor in women in the sense of them uh, laughing 148 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: at their jokes, nothing at their joke, or being witty 149 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: since which is a sign up intelligence. You know, witty 150 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: women have always done fairly well, but not being aggressively 151 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: funny because a lot of times male humor, you know, 152 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: is based on you know, other people's misfortune. Right, there's 153 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: this theory of humor that uh, in stand up comedy, 154 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: you're starting this power over some sort of subject and 155 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: your audience because you're forcing them to recognize how funny 156 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,679 Speaker 1: you are. And that taking of power is not something 157 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: we associate with women. You know, if you think back 158 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: to the podcast to Be Done Negotiation, women have a 159 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: hard time of starting that power. And so it does 160 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: make some sense if you want to think about it 161 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: in kind of an abstract way, that women wouldn't want 162 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: to claim that power over you know, over men, and 163 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: even like I mean that, well, that might sound like 164 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: kind of a a sexist statement to make um even uh. 165 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: Friend Lebowitz mentions in this Hitchens article that you know, 166 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: in her opinion, like the cultural values right now UM 167 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: are overall male dominated, and you know, women breaking into 168 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: UM comedy is challenging those more male cultural values. So 169 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: what happened a year after the Hitchens essay is that 170 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: Vanity Fair, I guess, wanted to do a article on 171 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: women comedians and kind of had to eat their words 172 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: a little bit. They gave a female writer, Alexander Stanley, 173 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: at the task of kind of rebutting Hitchens, accompanied by 174 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: pictures of you know, people from Serenite Live dressed up 175 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: in gorgeous outfits photographed by any Leewwitz. It was it 176 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: was sort of the rebuttal I guess you would say. 177 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: And the thesis of this whole Vanity Fair article is 178 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: that women are enjoying kind of this new rise in 179 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: comedy um popular comedy thanks to television, because, as Mora 180 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: Fron puts it in the Vanity Fair article, there's simply 181 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: too many hours on cable TV to fill for men 182 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: to be able to dominate the entire comedy sphere, and 183 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: so they simply had no other choice but to start 184 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: giving women more opportunities in comedic roles, and as you know, 185 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: producers and writers allah Tina Fey, because women obviously have 186 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,319 Speaker 1: been comedic characters since you know, as far back as 187 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: you know in film history, UM, but a lot of 188 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: times it was women telling the jokes that men wrote 189 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: for them. Right, They're playing characters in funny things as 190 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: opposed to creating funny projects for themselves. And then usually 191 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: either be you know, it serve as more of a 192 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: foil to a male character, or be you know, the 193 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: stereotype of like a dits or a vamp or you 194 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: know whatever else. And now they're actually becoming more of 195 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: these kind of I guess, normalized roles if you will, right, 196 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: And you know, it is worth getting a shout out 197 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: to Lucille Ball. There was this famous UM Comedy panel 198 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: in two thousand or Jerry Lewis said, I don't like 199 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: any female comedians, and Martin Short said, well, you must 200 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: like Lucille Ball had a very funny television show. And 201 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: he was like, well, no, not really. But it's very 202 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: interesting to compare what Lucille Ball did to be funny 203 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: to what someone like Tina Fey does to be funny. Right, 204 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: Because a lot of times. You know, if you if 205 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: you watch I Love Lucy, you'll notice that I mean 206 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: Lucille Ball. You know, it's a very you know, attractive woman. 207 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: But at the same time, her comedy bits were usually 208 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: based on her making herself look entirely unattractive or just 209 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: like a buffoon. Yeah, ridiculous. Whereas now this is sort 210 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: of um and accompanying the rise of more funny women 211 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: on television, more smart funny women, I suppose, and short, 212 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: is there anything more threatening than a smart and funny woman. 213 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: So now it's interesting that we started this with Saturday 214 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: Night Live sketch comedy show because, um, one thing I 215 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,079 Speaker 1: was reading in the Christian Science Monitor of all places, 216 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: sort of weird to me, was that we definitely don't 217 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: like the aggressive female stand up comedian. You know, it's 218 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: just although women have been very successful at that in 219 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: the past, it's just not maybe what the big world 220 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: is is comfortable with. But there was this idea that 221 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,959 Speaker 1: sketch comedy and improv is really what drove the rise 222 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: of this more um popular female comedy because working together 223 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: in a skit, uh just appeals more to women than 224 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: standing on stage by yourself and trying to say to 225 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: a man, oh, you're stupid, but in a funny way, 226 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: because that wasn't very funny. Yeah, because it's kind of 227 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: the idea that women work, work well cooperatively and kind 228 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: of have the you know, the opportunity to bounce things 229 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: off of one another and don't have to you know, 230 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: stand up there and kind of take that, you know, 231 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: the power over the audience, like you had mentioned earlier, Um, 232 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,200 Speaker 1: as people have to do in uh, in stand up. 233 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: But that's not to say, though, Molly, that that women 234 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: haven't been successful in stand up, but it's been in 235 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: a lot more maybe limited way, at least in the beginning, um, 236 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: than it was with men. Like if we go back 237 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: and um think about Lily Tomlin for instance, UM, a 238 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: lot of her jokes uh in the beginning of her 239 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: career were based around you know, domestic life, you know, 240 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: things that you know, a you know, a woman would 241 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: be doing in her everyday life. Whereas men like you know, 242 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,719 Speaker 1: George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor maybe had a 243 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: little more opportunity and a little more license to uh 244 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 1: be more be edgier and be more groundbreaking. Yeah, they 245 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: could talk about different things and you think about someone 246 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: like Rosanne bar Um obviously not still her name. I 247 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: don't know where her last name is anymore. I think 248 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: she might just be Roseanne at this point, like Madonna. Yeah, 249 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: but her whole stick was that she was a domestic 250 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: goddess who had these kids, this husband, and that's what 251 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: they built her show around. You know. It's it's almost 252 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: kind of agreeing with hitchens argument that the women's role, 253 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: the women's viewpoint on comedy is going to be this 254 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: domestic sphere that they have, and so it's only I 255 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: think recently that women can kind of get out of 256 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: that domestic sphere or talk about their own domestic sphere 257 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: that might be different than what you know, our world 258 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: considers the proper domestic sphere, if that makes sense. And 259 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: I think one prime example of that is in um 260 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: the realm of gay comedians, for instance, going back to 261 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: the seventies, when you have um these male stand up 262 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: comedians like Richard Pryor and all of the others who 263 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:55,239 Speaker 1: are being who are maybe opening up UM more conversation, 264 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,199 Speaker 1: like uncomfortable conversations about you know, things that are going 265 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: on in society and a very kind of subs of way, 266 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: I would argue that um uh, gay comedians, like female 267 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: gay comedians in particular, have done a lot to move 268 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: us outside of that like normalize if you will, UM 269 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: domestic sphere, because if you take for instance, the work 270 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: of Suzanne Westenhoffer, who was the first openly gay comedian, 271 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: and then you know Ellen Degenerous who came out on 272 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: her show like These how that opened up kind of 273 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: a new dialogue about homosexuality in America, which I think 274 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: was a pretty groundbreaking way to do it through comedy. 275 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: Like women using comedy to UM kind of bring about 276 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: this kind of social change. But I would say still 277 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: in the mainstream, there is a limit as to you know, 278 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: what women can talk about because you know, if you 279 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: do watch you know, Ellen's talk show, a lot of 280 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: times she still does go back to like talking you know, 281 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: more about like her dogs than like her personal relationship. 282 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: And I think that you can kind of extrapolate that 283 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: some to UM, like women in Holly in general and 284 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: trying to push through to UM to kind of have 285 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: more the same comedic access to all those you know, 286 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: raunchy topics that men have. Yeah, men I think have 287 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: more license to to talk about, you know, a one 288 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: night stand than any woman would. Um, and so I 289 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: do think that there's still that double stand with raunch. 290 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: We found this good article in um Variety wasn't because 291 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: article was written kind of around the premiere of Ugly 292 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: True starring Katherine Heigel, which was, um, sort of a 293 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: a very raunchy comedy, you know, starring this very attractive 294 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: mainstream Hollywood female, which is a new thing, and it 295 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: was about how, um, it's been very hard for women 296 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: writers and producers and actress actresses to break into this 297 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: realm of raunch comedy that's very judd apataw you know, 298 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: Will Ferrell, Seth Rogan, et cetera. And um, it was 299 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: just saying that, uh, Hollywood doesn't want to put any 300 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: money behind women in these roles. They would prefer for 301 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: women to play kind of the more demure foil to 302 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: a Will Ferrell than you know, just being the star 303 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: of the show. Yeah, so we don't necessarily want women 304 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: to be potty mouths, but if we do, it helps, 305 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: um if they're extremely beautiful, which is something that second 306 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: Vanity Fair piece picked up is that you know, for 307 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: a long time, the comedians who were very successful weren't 308 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: necessarily the most attractive, you know, commonly attractive women. But now, 309 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: I mean, if you look at this, you know, we 310 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: were talking about how they did this new Vanity Fair 311 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: article by having these very sexy photographs of female comedians, 312 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: and there has been evolution from Lucile Ball trying to 313 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: look as frumpy as possible to play this housewife to 314 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: Tina Fey, who plays a character who allegedly eats a 315 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: lot and it's dateless. Yeah, I mean, Tina Fey is gorgeous, right, 316 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: She's rocking the glasses, she's rocking some cleavage and yeah, 317 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: we're supposed to buy that. She's you know, this dumpy, 318 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: put upon woman, right, And then there's the whole issue 319 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: of yet another Vanity Fair article. It was a UM 320 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: profile of Tina Fey written by Maureen Dowd and UM. 321 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,880 Speaker 1: While it was an interesting profile learning different things about 322 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:11,120 Speaker 1: Tina Fey's character, it continually came back to her appearance 323 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 1: and this issue of her having lost thirty pounds because 324 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: back in the day she's five four, and back in 325 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 1: the day, I think her peak weight was like one fifty, 326 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: which on a five four frame, you know, I mean, 327 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,959 Speaker 1: it's not you know, teeny tiny. But at the same time, uh, 328 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: you know, the fact that she just came back to 329 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: it over and over and over again and had so 330 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 1: many you know, descriptions of her spelt frame that it 331 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: was kind of like weight. Are we more impressed that 332 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 1: Tina Fey, you know, so funny and witty or we 333 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: just so impressed that she lost thirty pounds so that 334 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: she can now be on television, right, which is a 335 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:46,440 Speaker 1: little disturbing when you know, as we mentioned the e 336 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: source that perhaps Casey Wilson was asked to lose weight. 337 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: Are we setting up you know? On the one hand, 338 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: we kind of celebrate the fact that we have more 339 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: funny women on television than we used to, but are 340 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: we setting all funny women up for this fall? Because 341 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: in addition to being funny, they've got to be beautiful. So, 342 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: I mean, that's an argument that goes both ways. It 343 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: could be possible that it's good that we have more 344 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: female kind of breaking ground, more females breaking ground within 345 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: this sphere, But if they have to do it by 346 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: being beautiful, is it just going to screw everyone up 347 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: later on? Yeah? And I think um, I really liked 348 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: this quote from Amy Poehler in a Salon article that 349 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,199 Speaker 1: was about the release of Baby Mama and um and 350 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: she was saying that, um, I get worried for young 351 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: girls sometimes. I want them to feel that they can 352 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: be sassy and full and weird and geeky and smart 353 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: and independent and not so withered and shriveled, you know 354 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: as you might think of. You know, it's like the 355 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 1: idea of like kind of a smart, serious woman who 356 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: can't be it can't be funny and jokey and weird. 357 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 1: And so I'm kind of hoping that that that's that's 358 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: where comedy and women will head in the future, that 359 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: it's not just going to be dominated by you know, 360 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: your looks made. It is television, yeah, right now, and 361 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: television is very looks of used. But um, I also 362 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: thought it was telling that in that Variety article about 363 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: Raunch Comedy, there was a quote from a male exec 364 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: from New Line Cinema that was just saying, you know, 365 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: funny is funny. Whether he was like, it's ludicrous to 366 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: think that, you know, a man is going to be 367 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: funnier than a woman, Like if if people are laughing 368 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: at the joke, then who cares who it is? Yeah? 369 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:23,439 Speaker 1: And I think that's the risk of us doing you know, 370 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: this kind of topic. If you if you make sort 371 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,639 Speaker 1: of this example out of Tina Fey as this beautiful, smart, 372 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: funny woman, and then that becomes our standard, then it's 373 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: impossible to uphold. Like, there's really no reason why we 374 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 1: should have to single out Tina Fey as you know, 375 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: an ideal of funny or Sarah Silverman as an ideal 376 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:45,120 Speaker 1: of funny. We shouldn't necessarily have the prefix female comedian 377 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,880 Speaker 1: or funny woman. I mean, it should just be as 378 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 1: you say, funny, it's funny. Um. And we probably do 379 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: run the risk of just by singling them out like that, um, 380 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: you know, making it hard for someone to follow on 381 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,919 Speaker 1: their footsteps. But you know, it's hard to argue argue 382 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: with the stats and you seem or you know, funny 383 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: male fact guys running around. Yeah. But and then and 384 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: the end, at the end of the day, I think 385 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 1: the good thing to take away from it all is 386 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: the fact that, um, you know, with more women in 387 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: comedy and more women in um mainstream comedy, uh, I 388 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,679 Speaker 1: think it is another cultural stereotype that we are taking 389 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 1: on and maybe breaking down. Because going back to that 390 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: Christopher Hitchens article, and this whole like kind of antiquated 391 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: idea of you know, comedy being aggressive and it being 392 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 1: men's way of you know, taking down the woman and 393 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: we should just be their captive audience. I think the 394 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,479 Speaker 1: tables are turning. I do. And you know, one thing, 395 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: one last thing I'll mention is that, um, if if 396 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: we're not a cheating in stand up comedy, like we said, 397 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: the Rise of the skits has been pretty popular, and 398 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: it's possible that women just have this kind of sly 399 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: sense of humor where they put themselves in a skit 400 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 1: like you watched Tina Fey and Alec Bald went spar 401 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: over some issue and instead of there being necessarily a punchline, 402 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: it's funny because you relate to it and because it's 403 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: happened to you or it hasn't how much to you, 404 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,400 Speaker 1: and you know, the tables are turned and and so 405 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: it's it's that's from an idea from an essay by 406 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: Lisa Meryl on feminist humor that um, you know, for 407 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:14,679 Speaker 1: better for worse, if women can't take that power on 408 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: a stage, they kind of take that power and put 409 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: it in a scene. And that's what's funny as opposed 410 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: to a punchline and um, and then finally, you know, 411 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,919 Speaker 1: going back once again to uh to Amy Poehler, I 412 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: think she made an interesting point, um about not having 413 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: to worry like, as women in comedy, you just can't 414 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: worry about you know, who you might offend and who 415 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 1: you're poking fun of because men are going to do that. 416 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:38,679 Speaker 1: And she just says, like the way to do it 417 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 1: is to do what men do, which is just to 418 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: assume power. You're not grateful for it, just do it. Yeah, So, 419 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: if we've got funny women out there, please please email 420 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: us jokes because, as Kris and I have point out, 421 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: we're not good at them. Well, you're not good at mom. 422 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:54,880 Speaker 1: I didn't I didn't try to tell a joke today, 423 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: so I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna shoulder that burden. Okay, fine, 424 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 1: so send us your jokes. Sends your thoughts as always 425 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: to you. Mom's stuff at house stuffworks dot com. And 426 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: I wanted to segue into listener mails mail Now the 427 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 1: topic that is currently rocking our inboxes is everyone's story 428 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: about their maiden name. UM that we have gotten some 429 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: really fascinating responses and um I'm just gonna read one today, 430 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: and it'll be tricky because you know, we try not 431 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,640 Speaker 1: to say people's last names for privacy. So let's say 432 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 1: that this this is Anne's story, and let's say that, 433 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: um well, I'll just make up last names as we 434 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: go along. Is there not Anne's real last names? And 435 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,199 Speaker 1: I hope Anne is getting mad that I read this 436 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: because the story infuriates her, and so I might just 437 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: be enraging her right now. It's, as you see, it's 438 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: a pretty troublesome story. Um So, when she got married, 439 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 1: she was twenty years old, had two master's degrees, published 440 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: articles in a thesis, lots of professional stuff under her belt. 441 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 1: So even though she had never really cared for her 442 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:59,640 Speaker 1: maiden name, it was still a difficult decision to make, 443 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: just be because she was an accomplished woman. And now 444 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: I'll start reading her email directly. I also waited my 445 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: strong desire to have the whole unity thing among family 446 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: members when we have children, and to avoid all the 447 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: confusion I saw with my friends who kept their name 448 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: as much as strangers for questions should not factor in. 449 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: I also did not want to subject myself in future 450 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: children to a life time of questions about my relationship status, etcetera, 451 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: as well as just keeping things simple. I could hyphenate, 452 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: but then I already said it was not my name 453 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: I was namored with, despite this strong connection with my 454 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: identity as an educated and accomplished woman. So she thinks 455 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,919 Speaker 1: about blah blah blah, and she's gonna go the Hillary 456 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 1: rottom Clinton route. Okay, the two last names. Apparently in 457 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: the state of New York has decided that that is 458 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 1: no longer an option. I was told flat out that 459 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: I would be forced to hyphenate my name if I 460 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: wanted to keep any variant of my last name as 461 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 1: a part of my name along with my husband's. The 462 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,880 Speaker 1: officials I spoke with claim some sort of secret law 463 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: which they could not even reveal to me, having to 464 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: do with security and new ideas, etcetera. So it's already 465 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: were a lot of blab trouble overre just to hyphen 466 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: So now at this point, she's argued with four people 467 00:23:58,280 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: in the d m B, three more on the phone 468 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: TEO people at the court house, in a few more 469 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: at city Hall. So, feeling very angered, angered that something 470 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: as personal as my name was against the law, I 471 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: took my only other option to go through a legal 472 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: name change. Well, listen about multiple trips to civil court 473 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: to file petition, having me with the judge the final ruling, 474 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 1: proof of advertising, and then to pick up my documents. 475 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: I don't remember how much it costs, but it was 476 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: well or behind her bucks, plus my time away from work. 477 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: I also had to advertise in a newspaper, and on 478 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: top of that, and the year two thousand seven, I 479 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: had to have my husband sign a letter saying he 480 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: would allow me to take his name. I was in 481 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,200 Speaker 1: court with people who were changing their names to English 482 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,679 Speaker 1: names from foreign selling names, people with sex changes, and 483 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: other reasons for name changes, but I've got to say 484 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 1: I was the only freaking person going there because of 485 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: a marriage. In fact, the judge looked at me totally 486 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: funny when I told him why I was there. He 487 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 1: had never heard of the d MB doing that either, 488 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: and seemed to question my honesty as I explained why. 489 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 1: It was eventually granted the change. But now whenever she 490 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: does anything regarding ideas or taxes or anything, she has 491 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: to explain the whole story over and over again, and 492 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: it makes her blood boil. And so I'm sorry. I 493 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: brought it up, but it just shows how much trouble 494 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: we have to go through to keep uh, just keep 495 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: a name in the name. Yeah, because in the podcast 496 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: a lot of the focus was on how hard it 497 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: can be for men to take their wives last name. 498 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: But turns out you're in New York, watch out gal 499 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: better better out of hyphen Yeah. So thanks so much 500 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: and for sharing your story, and thanks to everyone who 501 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: shared their story. We're gonna keep reading um these and 502 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: continued listener mail segments and uh. If you would like 503 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: to see what Molly and I are thinking about during 504 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,280 Speaker 1: the week, you should head over to our blog called 505 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 1: how to Stuff and UM. If you want to read 506 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 1: a variety of fascinating articles about every topic under the sun, 507 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: you should head over to mind in Molly's professional home 508 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com for moral this, and 509 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics. Because it how stuff works dot Com. 510 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 1: Want more house to forts, check out our blogs on 511 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:08,919 Speaker 1: the house supports dot com home page. Brought to you 512 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. It's ready, are 513 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: you