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BARRECA, REGINA They Used to Call Me Snow White. . . But I Drifted: WomenS Strategic Use of Humor
Australia, 01 August 1991, Viking Adult, 1991. (ISBN: 0670838012) Hardcover , 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches. Binding tight. Pages clean. Minimal shelf wear. Christmas dedication to previous owner inside front cover in ink. To the tired question "Why don't women have a sense of humor?" Barreca (editor of Last Laughs ) replies: they do. But only Bad Girls use their sense of humor, she argues, because they are not afraid of what its use implies--the decision to understand sexual innuendo, occupy center stage and break rules. The more Barreca repeats her thesis--that women's humor is subversive because it stems from women's power, which many men find threatening--the less interesting it becomes. But her analysis of the Good Girl/Bad Girl dichotomy in books, movies and TV sitcoms is illuminating. She distinguishes between the self-deprecating humor of earlier female comics like Phyllis Diller (who noted that the best method of birth control was to leave the lights on) and Diller's current counterparts (Elayne Boosler, Rita Rudner), who sharpen their wit on the world at large. A funny bone may well be the most forceful weapon feminists possess, Barreca claims. And despite an annoying tendency to make sweeping generalizations about both sexes, she offers good advice about how to wield the weapon of humor wisely. Very Good.
Offered for US$ 9.99 by: The Recycled Book Shop - Book number: 001855
See more books from our catalog: Womens Studies