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.