Mais si, t’es drôle ! Stratégies de deux collectives - les Sous-Entendu·e·s et l’Atout Comedy Club – pour rendre les scènes de stand-up plus inclusives à Bruxelles : quelles perceptions par les humoristes femmes et issu·e·s des minorités de genre ?

Details

Supervisors

Grandjean Nathalie

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en études de genre

Abstract

enThis thesis was conceived as an inquiry into the cultural and nightlife venues in Brussels where women and individuals hailing from gender minorities perform stand-up comedy. They take part in performances organized by two collectives: SousEntendu·e·s and the Atout Comedy Club. By dismantling the “fourth wall”, these comedians enact skits inspired by their own experiences, in connection with gender issues, on stages designated as safe(r) spaces. Following four key observations on the position of women within humor studies and the realm of feminist humor, a retrospective analysis of American, French, and Belgian stand-up comedy highlights (American, French, and Belgian) women comedians as well as the intricate lineages that exist between female, feminist, and queer stand-up comedy as practiced today on Brussels stages. This paper further illuminates pioneering women humorists whose legacies necessitated diligent rediscovery. Subsequent to a period dedicated to scene observation and interviews with the comedians, two themes are analyzed on the basis of the collected material and the concepts of safe spaces and sorority. Furthermore, two recurring themes emerging from the interviews are analyzed through the prism of the gender construct: male violence inside and outside the stand-up scene and its influence on comedians' behavior, as well as the reconciliation of motherhood and stand-up.