Volume 124 Issue 88
kansan.com
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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ENTERTAINMENT
--the funny ladies of Girprov act serious, (from left to right) Anna May Smith, Havana Mahoney,
Julie Miller, Maggie Carroll, and Jackie Knoester
Funny Females
We've come a long way since "I Love Lucy." //KELSEY CIPOLLA
After decades of being told they aren't as funny as men, women are stepping into the limelight and showing just how funny they can be.
John Belushi once famously stated that women aren't funny. While it seems easy to write off as sexist, the notion that there is some innate difference in the humor of men and women has persisted for a disturbingly long time.
A University of California San Diego study from last year titled "Who's Funny: Gender Stereotypes, Humor Production, And Memory Bias" tested this claim by having people judge the quality of humor in cartoon captions, without knowing who wrote it. Researchers found that men were only slightly funnier than women, largely because other men found them funny. Men were also more likely to get credit for funny remarks and women more likely to get blamed for the bad jokes, perpetuating the stereotype.
Fortunately, women aren't letting that stop them from being funny as hell.
Havana Mahoney was destined to be a comedian. The daughter of former members of a traveling improvisational group, she was always drawn to comedy. She started an improv comedy group at her high school in Manhattan and after coming to KU, she found Stitch Tactics Now a senior, Mahoney says her style might not be lady-like in the traditional sense; she talks about poop and the pros and cons of having a penis, but she doesn't think her gender should be an issue.
"A lot of people have come up to me and been like, 'You joke like a man,'" Mahoney says, affecting the accent of a crotchety old person. "No, I just joke, and you have horrible, stereotypical views of life."
After a couple years with Stitch Tactics, a KU student comedy group, Mahoney joined its more selective Kansas City branch, as well as an all-girl improv troupe in Lawrence, called Girlprov.
"Inherently, just based on gender roles in our society as a whole, they would put us into subordinate roles where we'd be the wife or we'd be the submissive girlfriend, or the mom, or the annoying female friend," Mahoney says of the Girl-prov members' experiences with men in comedy. "But it was never intentional."
Girlprov co-founder and University alum Jackie Koester says the group came together for a simpler reason—similar personalities and senses of humor that made for more cohesive and entertaining performances.
Koester, who grew up in a small town, turned to women like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for comedic inspiration and thinks the success of their shows, the Emmy-winning "30 Rock" and Emmy-nominated "Parks and Recreation," help other women feel more confident pursuing comedy.
The presence of women in media hasn't always been so inspiring. For a long time, women on TV were mothers and wives and nothing else. Then, along came a famous redhead.
"Lucille Ball in the 1950s was, as some people will call her, a pre-feminist," says Dr. Lynn Spangler, an associate dean of liberal arts and sciences at the State University of New York at New Paltz and author of "Television Women from Lucy to Friends: Fifty Years of Sitcoms and Feminism."
In a way, it all started with "I Love Lucy," which showed the brazen title character as a mother and a wife but also being funny in a way that people still react to today. She was offered several jobs yet pursued her dreams of being an entertainer. More recently, Jennifer Anniston's character Rachel Green on the '90s sitcom "Friends" showed a woman that could be funny, independent and career-oriented. Tina Fey's Liz Lemon on "30 Rock" is a single woman leading a major network show's writing staff.
"One of the things feminists have been accused of is not having a sense of humor," Spangler says. "Well, Tina definitely has a sense of humor."
Spangler points out that the more women we see being portrayed realistically as funny, capable, and flawed, the more accepting society becomes of women and women become of themselves.
"With the right attitude, it doesn't matter what gender you are. The audience is going to accept you as in control and give you the proper respect and attention."
Mahoney's troupe Girlprov will perform Feb. 11 in Improv Thunderdome, a comedy troupe competition, at the Westport Flea Market in Kansas City, Mo.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
FLAUNTING THE GOODS: TOP FEMALE FACES OF COMEDY
MELISSA MCCARTHY IN "BRIDESMAIDS"
McCarthy received an Oscar nomination for her scene-stealing portrayal of Megan, a woman who proudly proclaims she's going to climb a man like a tree and considers an all-girl fight club an appropriate bachelorette party activity.
AMY POEHLER IN NBC'S "PARKS AND RECREATION"
As Leslie Knope, a loyal employee of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation department with aspirations of a political career, Poehler manages to be hilarious, relatable and genuinely kind.
CHELSEA HANDLER IN "CHELSEA LATELY" AND "THE CHELSEA HANDLER SHOW"
The only woman in the boy's club of late night talk show hosts, Handler never shies away from being controversial or crass, makes an effort to include other funny ladies on the program and continually brings in more viewers than network hosts like Jimmy Kimmel.
Saturday's game against rival Missouri is one that must be won in the paint and on the boards. Because Missouri is a guard-oriented team that counts on one big man, Ricardo Ratliffe, Kansas cannot abandon its front-court offense. The Jayhawks have the height advantage against the Tigers. Ratliffe will pose problems, but Withey and Robinson have no excuse to get into foul trouble. They must be the aggressors like they were against Oklahoma and attack Missouri's big men, especially Ratliffe, and get Missouri into foul trouble.
perimeter. Drawing more oerencers to guard the paint allows a slash to the basket.
Both Robinson and Withey cannot have off nights because the front-court bench players, Justin Wesley and Kevin Young, are unreliable. The Jayhawks will go as far as where their front-court offense takes them. Kansas has no business launching ill-advised three-pointers when they can work their offense through a 7-footer and an All-American candidate.
- Edited by Amanda Gage
Halfway through league play, Kansas is fighting to defend a 500 record. Going into Wednesday's game, Kansas was ranked No. 25 by the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, but that excitement was lost in the overtime loss.
"You look at all three of them and it has been gut-wrenching" coach Bonnie Hendrickson said. "In this league you have got to be able to take care of your home court and we have not done that."
Kansas looked like it had the game decided midway through the second half with a series of stunning offense and stiffing defense. Up seven, the jayhawks started to slide again and needed a three-pointer to send it into overtime. Junior guard Angel Goodrich and junior guard Monica Engelman hit clutch shots to keep the jayhawks in the game and turnovers and defensive breakdowns helped lead to the swift demise of No. 25.
Two short weeks ago when Kansas hosted Texas A&M it was in a completely different position coming off three road wins and in sole possession of second place in the conference.
tions are currently the Associated Press poll and another three are receiving votes including Kansas. But as the jayhawks reach for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000, they are left with no guaranteed victories in this talented league.
"I really believe if Kansas would have won this ball game it would have punched their ticket even this early to the tournament" Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said.
To reach that goal the Jayhawks need at least 20 wins and around nine or 10 in expanded conference play. The Jayhawks start the second wind of their round robin conference schedule this weekend. They will face three of the four teams they lost to on the road and host No. 1 Baylor
Angel Goodrich who leads the nation in assists and junior forward Carolyn Davis who leads in shooting percentage. The team as a whole ranks sixth in the nation in overall shooting percentage, but in the last two games that hasn't translated. The Jayhawks shot just 38.2 percent from the field, well under their average of 47.9.
Personnel wise, the Jahawks have struggled. Sophomore guard Keena Mays and freshman guard Donielle Breaux left the team earlier in the season leaving Kansas with 10 women on the roster. Even with the downsizing, freshman guard Asia Boyd who entered the program as the No. 37 recruit is playing minimal minutes.
After Texas &M this weekend, Kansas will return home to host Texas before hitting the road again with stops at Kansas State and Iowa State.
Edited by Amanda Gage
CHRIS BROWN/KANSAN
COACH BONNIE HEINICKSON links concerned down the court during Tuesday's game against Oklahoma where Kansas was defeated in overtime 68-72. Kansas is now 16-4 for the season and 5-1 in Big 12 play.
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