Does this headline tell you anything?

Sarah Silverman’s Bad Career Move: Being as Dirty as the Guys

Sigh. It’s not going away, is it? Subtle discrimination and lowered expectations are alive and well, as illustrated in Variety this very morning. Witness this quote regarding Sarah Silverman:

“Despite all manner of career-friendly gifts – from her looks to solid acting chops – she’s limited herself by appearing determined to prove she can be as dirty and distasteful as the boys …”

The article goes on to ask why she’s making fun of rape and make a wish kids and the Seaward – which are all valid questions. After all, comedians are doing their job when they best hold up a mirror to society and make us question thoughts, actions and behaviours. If that’s what a comedian is doing, whether I approve of their message or not, it’s all good to me. It’s fair to question these things.

So… Let’s take a moment and go back to the comment above. Remember a while back when the whole rape joke thing came out against Tosh.0 or whatever that guy is called? (Full disclosure- neither of these folks are my favourite comedians, so feel free to correct me on anything that doesn’t seem right…) I read a lot about the incident, and I don’t recall one reference to whether or not Tosh was handsome/smarmy/smarmsome. He was a guy doing a job, and people either agreed with him or they didn’t.

When male comedians get written up, there’s often a reference to whatever funny looking traits the men have, but it’s generally not the second sentence of the article. And the writeups generally aren’t as condescending as this one is. I think the “Aww sweetie, leave that to the boys” tone is maybe not entirely intentional, but that’s how it reads. So, um, not sure why that’s OK to publish in a legit publication…?

Regardless, I wish all the luck to Sarah Silverman with her new special. She’s gonna need it, as it’s obvious that talent isn’t quite enough for you to make it if you’re just a lady in the business of funny…