Humor and Feminism - A research into the whereabouts of British comediennes

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2012 in the subject Gender Studies, grade: 66%, University of Hull (Social Sciences), course: Independent Research, language: English, abstract: Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist, once asked a group of women at a university why they felt threatened by men. The women said they were afraid of being beaten, raped or killed by men. She then asked a group of men why they felt threatened by women. They said they were afraid women would laugh at them. (Bing:357) The subject chosen for this independent research project is the body of knowledge and practice in British humour. I will discuss the major processes of intellectual and artistic trends that have shaped the complex dynamics between gender, humour and the sociopolitical representation of women. My purpose is to unearth and trace how humour - a formerly male and misogynist domain - was influenced by women and how it transformed into an area for feminist intervention.