Television Comedy and Femininity: Queering Gender (Library of Gender and Popular Culture, #9)

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. Cover ......Page 1 Author Biography ......Page 2 Editorial ......Page 4 Title Page ......Page 6 Copyright ......Page 7 Contents ......Page 8 List of Figures ......Page 10 Acknowledgements ......Page 12 Series Editors’ Foreword ......Page 13 Introduction Funny Peculiar: Queering Gender, Comedy and Television ......Page 16 Queering Gender ......Page 18 Queering Femininities ......Page 26 Queering Comedy ......Page 31 Queering Television ......Page 35 1. Gracie, Martha, Eve and Lucy: Queering Femininity in Early American Television Comedy ......Page 40 Queering Space and Time in 1950s American Sitcom: The Burns and Allan Show (CBS 1950–8) ......Page 41 Queering Sitcom: Our Miss Brooks ......Page 50 Queering the Gaze: The Martha Raye Show (NBC 1953–6) ......Page 53 Lucy and Lucille ......Page 58 Queering Suburbia ......Page 68 2. Back to the Dollhouse? Queering Postfeminism in Contemporary American Sitcom ......Page 72 Postfeminism and the New Comedy ......Page 75 Not Unruly Women? ......Page 78 Sex and the City: Queering Postfeminism ......Page 80 30 Rock ......Page 82 ‘I Want to Go to There’ ......Page 88 Parks and Recreation ......Page 93 Postscript ......Page 104 3. The Big Bang Theory: Queering Masculinity in American Sitcom ......Page 106 Queer Masculinities in Contemporary American Sitcom ......Page 109 Two and a Half Men ......Page 114 The Big Bang Theory ......Page 116 Race and Ethnicity in The Big Bang Theory ......Page 122 Sheldon Cooper: A Third Gender? ......Page 126 Resolving Queer Masculinities ......Page 131 4. Smack the Pony: Feminist Negotiations in British Sketch Comedy ......Page 138 Contexts: Not a Feminist Sketch Show ......Page 140 Queer Temporalities ......Page 144 Contexts: Postfeminism, Femininity and the ‘Norm’ ......Page 147 The Grotesque, the Queer, the Monstrous ......Page 152 Feminist Praxis: The Production of Smack the Pony ......Page 155 Queerly Desiring Subjects ......Page 160 Speaking and Stunting ......Page 163 Legacies ......Page 168 5. Queering Age: Older Women in British Television Comedy ......Page 174 Queer Times ......Page 176 Queering Ageing ......Page 178 The Young Old: The Golden Girls and Last of the Summer Wine ......Page 181 You’re Only Young Twice ......Page 184 Waiting for God ......Page 194 Going Forward? ......Page 207 Conclusion ......Page 214 Notes ......Page 222 Bibliography ......Page 223 Index ......Page 239 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, Television Comedy And Femininity 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--publisher's Description. Funny Peculiar: Queering Gender, Comedy And Television -- Gracie, Martha, Eve And Lucy: Queering Femininity In Early American Television Comedy -- Back To The Dollhouse? Queering Postfeminism In Contemporary American Sitcom -- The Big Bang Theory: Queering Masculinity In American Sitcom -- Smack The Pony: Feminist Negotiations In British Sketch Comedy -- Queering Age: Older Women In British Television Comedy. Rosie White. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 208-223) And Index.