Television Comedy and Femininity : Queering Gender

Can comedy on television harbour elements of gender transgression or subversion? If a man is permitted to be ‘funny peculiar’ – playing the underdog or misfit – does a woman seem stranger in his place?
Mapping examples from British and American comedy television over the past 60 years, from I Love Lucy to The Big Bang Theory and Smack the Pony to Waiting For God, this book asks: are particular forms of television comedy gendered in specific ways? Paying attention to series which have not been addressed in academic work, as well as more established shows, White offers fresh insights for the fields of television studies, gender and women’s studies, cultural history and comedy.

"Dealing with the fascinating topic of female comedy on both sides of the Atlantic, White showcases such hilarious talents as Lucille Ball and Tina Fey and untethered programs such as 30 Rock and the British sketch comedy Smack the Pony ... What is good about White’s book is its wedding of British and American comedies, its recognition of the variable of age, and its celebration of women ... Summing Up: Recommended. Researchers and faculty." - CHOICE

"Admirably smart but eminently readable, topical but informed by a breadth of textual and theoretical histories, Rosie White’s book brings new and illuminating insights to bear on how we understand TV comedy and femininity. White’s work is a standout moment in the cultural and scholarly drive to recognise the talents and marginalisation of women in comedy, and to unpack the ‘wobbly scenery’ of normative gender identities." - Deborah Jermyn, Reader in Film and TV, University of Roehampton

"In this startlingly original reading of gender and comedy in transatlantic television, Rosie White persuasively illustrates the inherent queerness of this comedy and reveals how much we lose when we focus on funny performances of gender in a binary way. Her lively discussions of television series and performances sparkle with detail, wit, and theoretical savvy. In the tradition of books that are truly groundbreaking, Television Comedy and Femininity will have you nodding in vigorous agreement with its insights. And it will also make you laugh." - Linda Mizejewski, Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Ohio State University