Long time no see

Okay, first of all.... been awhile (dusting off blog)

I guess I haven't written much lately because I was waiting for response on my paper since I finished the rough draft awhile back. When I got it back I was pretty upset, but totally in agreement with the teacher. I was upset with myself because I knew something was off and it didn't flow.

I have rewritten my thesis and introduction in order to fit with my (now revised) paper. After having not looked at it for a few days, which always helps, I find it is almost like looking at it for the first time again.

I am at work at the moment so I will have to post the revised thesis a little later. I am happy with my paper. I have always chosen a subject and it was actually kind of nice to have one provided for me. It made me really think about what I was writing and do more research.

Other than that the paper is going well.


Devon

Working hard or hardly working. I wish!

It's been a slightly crazy week or so. I have fallen a little behind on my blog so I wanted to talk about my progress so far. The argument paper has been done for awhile, not counting a few corrections I thought of while working on/researching my final paper. My final paper on the other hand is still a work in progress. I am not quite liking the 'flow' of my paper. All three of my supporting arguments are very well written and supported by my sources but I feel like they aren't forming one good point, instead of three little ones that all relate to the main idea. I am not sure if that was a clear thought but that is how I feel. I look forward to the peer reviews although sometimes I take comments too personally. I will enjoy getting someone else to read it and tell me what they think. Sometimes the best thing for a paper is a fresh set of eyes. Maybe I am being too hard on myself. Or maybe someone will be able to help give me feedback on how to remedy this. Either way I am excited for it. Life has been a little busy so I haven't worked on it as much as I like since I finished my rough draft of it but I am hoping to put a lot more work into in the coming weeks. Juggling so much at one time is hard. I am really enjoying the online class but I have to be honest sometimes it leaves you a little lost because you misread something and it creates a big problem because you didn't get what you were meant to do. I miss the in class talks that you get in a regular class. I am not a patient person and it's hard to wait on replies because I did it and then don't get back to it for a few days. All in all though I think it was nice trying this online class. It has been quite an experience if nothing else. I can only imagine how hard the teacher has to work to catch up with every single comment and paper. If I feel stressed I am sure she does. I don't have to comment on every single post, but I do try to comment on as many as I can. I know I have really gained a lot from some of my classmates ideas and comments. It's almost like having a bunch of mini teachers helping me along. I feel like I have now got out what I have been thinking and what I have been feeling about the class and the papers. I hope everyone else is feeling as good, if not much better, then me.

I know I already commented on this in the class talks but it is so frustrating wondering if my spell and grammar check is right or not! I hate being dinged on something I was right about but changed because I thought my computer was smarter then me. Guess my computer could use to take an English class too.

Introduction

Although society regards women to be humorless and unqualified to present a threat to the male’s comedic ego, numerous females have demonstrated that they do possess the ability and the witty repartee necessary to be considered a flourishing comedian. Men and women have varying preferences in comedic style and content, which only perpetuates the stereotype of the female’s ineffectiveness to make a man laugh. However, there have been a plethora of scientific studies and research done on the distinct differences between what men and women interpret as amusing, making it simple to see how males and females are internally equipped for jokes in a different way then one another. Also, males appear to be genuinely humorous, utilizing their natural wit and personality in a way that comes effortlessly to them. Females appear to have no essential basic need to make jokes so they are less likely to be concerned about making an attempts to be funny without needing to be, but are capable of it if they are required. These examples help establish a plausible theory on why women might be less likely to be naturally gifted with humor that men can appreciate, and why men are unable to embrace the opposite sex as an equal on the comedic stage. In order to gain perspective on the argument of women’s struggle with comedy you must look deeper into the psychological and essentialist patterns of male/female characteristics. In this paper I will clearly explain how essentialism and characteristics that we are born with create a basic personality for each sex that either enables or disables them in comedy and cite numerous examples. I will undoubtedly demonstrate through my approach of examples and arguments of my sources that women are not born with the ability to be funny but that the art and ability of joking can be learned through proper social interaction and practice and that this is how the stereotype of women being unfunny was not only started but why it is still a popular belief.

MLA CITATIONS:

Berger, Arthur. An Anatomy of Humor: “The Telephone Pole with the Braided Armpits: Ethnic and Racial Jokes and American Society.” New Jersey: Transaction, 1993: Pages 65-73. Print.

Eli, Shaun. "Women ARE Funny: A feminist male comedian's experiences in stand-up comedy." Shine 9 June 2008: Print.

Greer, Germaine. “Beaten to the Punchline.” The Guardian 2 March 2009: Print.

Hitchens, Christopher. “Why Women Can’t Be Funny.” Vanity Fair January 2007: Pages 1-3. Print.

Naranjo-Huebel, Linda. "From Peek-a-boo to Sarcasm: Women's Humor as a Means of Both Connection and Resistance." Studies in Prolife Feminism 22 September 1995: Pages 1-24. Print.

Purdie, Susan. Comedy: The Mastery of Discourse “The Butt: The Third Person.”
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993: 58-70. Print.

Renton, Alex. “If women aren't funny, how come the world's hottest, most controversial comedian is female?” The Observer March 2006: Print.

Rubenstein, Jamie . "Why Women Aren’t Funny (Hint: It Has to Do with Men Being Hilarious!)" Apocalyptics. Web. 10 April 2008.

Stanley, Alessandra. “Who Says Women Aren't Funny?” Vanity Fair April 2008: Pages 1-7. Print.

Von Hahn, Karen. “Funny Girls.” The Globe 24 February 2007: Page L3. Print.

Wilson, Emily. "Are Men Threatened by Funny Women?" AlterNet. AlterNet. 4 September 2007.

New methode for this paper

I am taking a new approach at this paper that seems to be helping the flow of ideas and points in my paper. Usually when I write I put the quotes in as I am writing. I am doing my first draft without the quote, since they are supposed to be supporting MY argument, and putting the quotes in later. This way I feel like I am focusing more on the paper first and getting my thoughts out there before adding other peoples thoughts to it.

Tweeks On Thesis....Again

Although society regards women to be humorless and unqualified to present a threat to a male’s comedic ego, numerous females have demonstrated that they do possess the ability and the witty repartee necessary to be considered a flourishing comedian. Men and women have varying preferences in comedic style and content, which only perpetuates the stereotype of the female’s ineffectiveness to make a man laugh. However, there have been a plethora of scientific studies and research done on the distinct differences between what men and women interpret as amusing, making it simple to see how males and females are internally equipped for jokes in a different way then one another. Also, males appear to be genuinely humorous, utilizing their natural wit and personality in a way that comes effortlessly to them. Females appear to have no essential need to make jokes so they are less likely to be concerned about making any attempts to be funny without needing to be, but are capable if required. These examples help establish a plausible theory on why men are unable to embrace the opposite sex as an equal on the comedic stage.

Short Outline of Final Paper

Thesis: Although society regards women to be humorless and unqualified to present any sort of threat to a males comedic ego, numerous females have demonstrated that they do possess the ability and the witty repartee necessary in order to be considered a flourishing comedian. Men and women have varying preferences in comedic style and content, which only perpetuates the sexist stereotype of the female’s ineffectiveness to make a man laugh. However, there have been a plethora of scientific studies and research done on the subject of the distinct differences between what men and women interpret as amusing and establishes a plausible theory on why men are unable to embrace the opposite sex as an equal on the comedic stage.

First Supporting Argument: What do men find funny? What do women find funny? Why are they different? Do men just not appreciate female humor, or understand it?

Second Supporting Argument: What are some women in comedy that men like? What are some women in comedy that women like? Why are they successful at what they do? How does media play a role in their success?

Third Supporting Argument: What is the role of power in the argument of women in comedy and mens ego? Why do men think they are so much better at comedy?

Final Paragraph/Conclusion: There are many more successful women in comedy and many more to come. As you can see the old saying that women have no sense of humor is untrue. However, between mans struggle to continue to control power over women in the field of humor, and the major differences between a mans humor and a woman’s sense of humor it is easy to see how such a statement has yet to lose its hype.