Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy
- Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance
- The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Comedians’ Insights What Do You Do to Prepare to Go Onstage?
- Part I Time and Place
- Part II Interpretation and Meaning
- Chapter 5 Stand-Up Comedy and Gender
- Chapter 6 Stand-Up Comedy and Sexuality
- Chapter 7 Laugh No Limit
- Chapter 8 Jewish American Stand-Up Comedy
- Chapter 9 Stand-Up Comedy, Disability, and Social Justice
- Chapter 10 Stand-Up Comedy and Offence
- Chapter 11 Stand-Up and Politics
- Comedians’ Insights Your Writing Process
- Part III Performance Dynamics
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- References
Chapter 11 - Stand-Up and Politics
from Part II - Interpretation and Meaning
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2025
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Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy
- Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance
- The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Comedians’ Insights What Do You Do to Prepare to Go Onstage?
- Part I Time and Place
- Part II Interpretation and Meaning
- Chapter 5 Stand-Up Comedy and Gender
- Chapter 6 Stand-Up Comedy and Sexuality
- Chapter 7 Laugh No Limit
- Chapter 8 Jewish American Stand-Up Comedy
- Chapter 9 Stand-Up Comedy, Disability, and Social Justice
- Chapter 10 Stand-Up Comedy and Offence
- Chapter 11 Stand-Up and Politics
- Comedians’ Insights Your Writing Process
- Part III Performance Dynamics
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter argues that stand-up comedy events are never apolitical. Politics are expressed and embedded not only in the words that are said but also in the production decisions that shape the context in which they are delivered. The Guilty Feminist podcast is used as an example through which to demonstrate this principle. The podcast presents segments of stand-up comedy within an unconventional format: one that has been designed to serve the political aims and principles of its creators. Key creative decisions are interpreted through the stated political philosophy of the podcast’s co-creator and permanent host, Deborah Frances-White. Her intersectional, feminist politics underpin three important aspects of the podcast’s creative policy: the decision to prioritise women and minority performers, an emphasis on collaboration over competition, and a challenge to conventional wisdoms regarding the nature of comic licence.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy , pp. 206 - 221Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Further Reading
Douglas, Mary, ‘Jokes’, in Douglas, Mary (ed.), Implicit Meanings: Selected Essays in Anthropology, 2nd ed. (London: Routledge, 1999), pp. 146–164.Google Scholar
Frances-White, Deborah, The Guilty Feminist: From Our Noble Goals to Our Worst Hypocrisies (London: Virago, 2018).Google Scholar
The Guilty Feminist [podcast] (2015–), https://guiltyfeminist.com/.Google Scholar
Quirk, Sophie ‘Comedy Clubs That Platform Marginalised Identities: Prefigurative Politics in Sophie Duker’s Wacky Racists’, European Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2022: pp. 373–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomsett, Ellie, ‘“Less Dick Jokes”: Women-Only Comedy Line-Ups, Audience Expectations and Negotiating Stereotypes’, in Double, Oliver and Lockyer, Sharon (eds.), Alternative Comedy Now and Then: Critical Perspectives (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2022), pp. 239–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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