2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

The field of humor studies has existed for several decades, but has relied primarily on psychological and sociological modes of inquiry. Only recently have historical analyses and questions of gender and sexuality entered scholarly work on comedy and satire. In the mainstream media, a debate still rages over whether or not women can be “funny,” and, in the historical imagination, second-wave feminism has been condemned as terminally humorless, devoid of pleasure, play, and self-awareness.

This interdisciplinary panel challenges such assumptions by telling the vibrant history of women’s, feminist, and lesbian comedy in the Unites States. It contributes to a new body of scholarship that interrogates the relationship between comedic genres and social movements. The papers examine American women’s comedic performance from 1960 to the present day, exploring the ways that humor has been used to enact social change, both within and outside of the feminist and gay liberation movements. Panelists discuss the cultural production of sexual minorities and the functions of humor in negotiating queer and female identities before, during, and after the 1970s liberation projects. 

How has women's comedy been a tool for articulating political ideologies? For community building? How has it evolved over the past fifty years? This panel grapples with such questions, with contributions from scholars in U.S. and Theater History and Women's and Gender Studies. It also includes a live performance by artist Holly Hughes.