Lazy Comedy: Why I’m Not Laughing

I love comedy. I love the relief I get from laughter, I love the fact that something funny can make someone’s whole day better, and I love that noticing the oddities of shared human experience can bring a whole room of people together. However, with my growing feminist consciousness has come a growing unease in the pit of my stomach whenever I sit down to be entertained.

Now, I would like to take the time to clarify that I do not enjoy being upset. I’m as annoyed as anyone else when I hear myself inhale sharply through my teeth, or the long sigh that escapes when I hear a joke that touches a nerve. I would love to sit through a movie or a performance without finding something upsetting about the material. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more rare for me. I know that feminists have a reputation for ruining everything funny. Lately I’ve been opting out of watching comedy in public, because I didn’t want to be that person to ruin something for all of my friends. I took a chance this past week and went to see a performance in public, and found things even in this small local show to be much of the same: each joke was at the expense of some group, or called on the audience’s assumed membership in a privileged group in order to be funny.

Gratitude.

Last night, my faith in humanity was restored.

After feeling like I couldn’t even call myself a feminist anymore, after questioning all of the beliefs I have held dear since childhood, and after feeling like humanity was nothing but a bunch of assholes, I was proven wrong.

Last night, so many of my friends, professors, and readers, came out to Stand Against Sexual Violence. They came out in the cold, despite the late hour and short notice.

Signal Boost: Stand Against Sexual Violence TONIGHT!

Just a quick reminder for all of our readers in the Harrisonburg/JMU community:

Tonight at 8 PM on the Commons, we will be holding a vigil along with other student organizations and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program in response to the many sexual assaults against JMU students this semester.

To get more information, check out the facebook event page, or email Femistorian at meyersem@dukes.jmu.edu

Links Round-Up

This week at ShoutOut!,

Visionsofourfuture has some celeb news to share! First, this collaborative cover of “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore, reminds women of the power of their voice and the importance of their vote. Chris Brown is causing a stir in the media again — this time after dressing up as a terrorist for Halloween wearing a turban and fake beard, with bullet casings wrapped around his robe and holding an assault rifle.

Classifiedsarcastic wants you to check out this awesome new article about this journalists experiences with Gloria Steinem and how Ms. Steinem’s struggles have oftentimes intertwined with those of African American women. She also asks readers, is being funny the new way to forward the feminist movement? Should we all be like Tina Fey? This article argues that laughter is not only the new way to really reach the younger generation, but it’s also a good way to normalize feminism. Agree?

Because talking isn’t enough.

*Trigger warning: rape*

I firmly believe in the mission of this blog. I believe that discussing feminist issues amongst friends, in class, and in the community, is essential to promoting feminist goals.

But talking is not enough.

So far this semester, there have been multiple assaults and rapes of JMU students. One so violent that simply reading the charges left me feeling extremely triggered for days.

But in the wake of all of this, there has been silence from the JMU community. More importantly, there has been silence from the feminist community.

[TW: Racism] Signal Boost: We Are All Harrisonburg

With everything going on in the world these days, it can be easy to feel upset and saddened by the news. Given the recent events in Libya, and across the Middle East and Africa, it is understandable that many Americans are upset and frustrated that their fellow countrymen are in harms way.

But that never, ever justifies racist acts against anyone, especially those in our own communities.

Today, someone sprayed incredibly racist, incendiary, and hateful graffiti on the local mosque in Harrisonburg, the home of JMU.

Harrisonburg is also home to a diverse population of immigrants, some of whom practice Islam. We work with them, live with them, go to school with them, and share a community with them. Harrisonburg is their home just as much as it is anyone else’s.

Here at ShoutOut!, we have a no-tolerance policy toward racism. I think it’s time Harrisonburg adopted that policy as well.

This Sunday, September 17th, at 4:30 PM, community members are encouraged gather at the Islamic Center of Shenandoah Valley to come together as a community and show that we are ALL Harrisonburg, no matter our religion or lack thereof.

For more information, visit the facebook page for the event.

Quick Hit: Ellen Mayock and Dominica Radulescu

Hi Everyone!

Along similar lines as the Dominion Lecture series is the upcoming Bad Girls Re-Shape/Shake the Academy.  Mayock and Radulescu have both co-edited  Feminist Activism in the Academy essays.  It is a part of the JMU Visiting Scholars Program.  Event info is below!

 

Wednesday, September 12, 6:00 p.m.

Miller Hall 1101

Quick Hit: Dominion Lecture Next Week!!!

Next Monday, September 3rd, the Madison Caucus for Gender Equality will be hosting the Dominion Lecture featuring Joan Williams!

Joan Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, presents “Successful Career Tips from Savvy Career Women: The Four Patterns of Gender Bias” describing the patterns of bias documented by social science and sharing strategies successful women have used to navigate the unique challenges professional women often face.

A new semester, a new perspective

Hello readers! Everyone here at ShoutOut is thrilled about the start of the school year, and we can’t wait to start blogging again! As your new editors, eszenyme and I are looking forward to all of the great writing for our new and returning bloggers.

But before we get around to business as usual, eszenyme and I wanted to tell you about our personal goals for the semester. They can be summed up in one word: accessibility. Eszenyme and I share a common view that feminism should be accessible and do-able for everyone. And we’d like that to extend to ShoutOut. We are hoping to ensure that this blog is understandable, readable, and accessible to everyone-from our parents, to community members, and feminists alike. Our readers need to know that feminism can be learned and practiced by everyone, not just those with a college education or privileged background.

In Search of Our Queer Gardens: Live Homosexual Acts

Hello readers and welcome to another edition of “In Search of Our Queer Gardens,” my running column that examines various artists whose art that I have found to be compelling and speaks of Queer experiences. Two of my personal goals in writing this ongoing column is to a) come to my own, personal definition of what Queer Arts may look like and b) try to incorporate the inspiration I gain from these artists into my own production of art. This week, we have something a bit different. Instead of looking at a particular artist, as I have in the past, I wanted to examine an event we have on campus that is all about Queer Art.

Live Homosexual Acts is a series of monologues written and performed by JMU students as part of JMU’s annual week of LGBTQIQA pride, GayMU, hosted by Madison Equality. 2012′s LHA occurred last Friday night and was, I think, a pretty amazing show. (Full disclosure: This year, I was fortunate enough to join the wonderful student volunteers and participated in the show by performing a monologue that I had written.) I wanted to write a post not only giving details about this year’s show but also, I guess, explore the experience of what it was like to create and perform Queer art. If you happened to miss the show, here’s a great way to find out what it was all about!