UC Berkeley

This study considers the social, cultural, and political production of black women's humor, making the case that humor becomes more than merely a technique of entertainment. Instead, I argue that humor is a mode of literacy and site of self-authorship for African American women across a variety of discursive fields, including literature, sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, and electoral politics. Usually described as a "routine," the professional stand-up comics of this study are in fact presenting new ways of thinking about race, class, sex, culture, and power. Using archival research, ethnographic interviews, participant observation, and close readings of performances, this dissertation engages several questions: how do black women use humor to express emotions like desire, anger, and contempt? What are the effects of black women's public performances on their own identities? What do their performances tell us about black culture? How do ideas about black womanhood and feminism factor into their dialogue? What personal, political, and economic opportunities does stand-up comedy offer African American comediennes? Finally, how do black women engage in practices of self-fashioning in and through stand-up comedy? A deeper understanding of the affective and political dimensions of black women comedians' practices highlights stand-up comedy as a renegade space in which performers move literally and figuratively from outrageous comics to become audacious thinkers and potent social critics.