Who says women don't have a sense of humour? It's just men aren't listening, says stand-up comic Neeti Palta

 

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word stand-up comedy? You probably just think of a man standing on the stage with a mic and making people laugh. And we don't blame you for that. After all, comedy is mostly considered to be a man's job. Although, there are many women who are making a name for themselves in the profession, the perception hasn't really changed. But, comics like Neeti Palta are shattering the notion that only men are funny, every single day.

You must have probably heard about Palta and her jokes on various nuances of life. Well, she is actually known to take inspiration from her own life experiences and turn them into jokes. In an exclusive interview with OddNaari, Palta talks about stand-up comedy and funny women.

Men Just Need To Listen And They Will Realize Women Are Funny TooFor long, the society has believed that women aren't funny. In fact, if you ask men what kind of a woman they want to be with, they will never reply with "humour" as a quality. But, most women look for a man who can make them laugh.

Palta thinks that that the stereotype of unfunny women stems from the fact that men hardly ever listen to women. And to tell you the truth, we definitely agree with her. "Men don't listen. If you actually hear a woman talk, you would definitely find them funny. You are just too busy staring at them!" says Palta.

"Just look at the kind of clothes I generally wear on stage so that men would actually focus on what's coming out of my mouth and not the rest of me," she jokes.

The Environment Isn't Conducive Enough For Women To Actually Take Up ComedyYou must have probably noticed that there aren't many female comic out there. But have you ever wondered why? Well, Palta has the answer to that. She says that women receive so much of unwanted attention that they avoid taking up a field that would expose them to more.

"If you are woman and you step out of the house, you'll probably see that from a panwari to the auto driver--everybody stares at you. I remember when I wanted to take up comedy as a career, my parents were horrified--mostly for the sake of my safety," she says.

"You see as Indian women, we have been taught all our lives to not talk to strangers, but comedy is talking to strangers for a living! My parents were scared how strangers would react to my profession, but things have changed now. There are a lot of female comic now and I'm hoping there will be a lot more in the future and put me out of business," adds Palta.

The Clicking Of The Tongue Is The Worst Thing That I Have Heard As A Woman Doing ComedyIf you are woman voicing your opinion, judgmental aunties are your worst enemies. "I can't tell you how tired I'm of that "tch tch" sound I hear whenever I'm making jokes. A guy can say anything on stage and get away with it, but it's a different ballgame altogether if you are a woman," she says.

"You know the crowd takes the first five minutes to digest the fact that you are a woman doing comedy. They mostly think oh my god ladki? Achha bolti bhi hai?Aisi dikhti hai? Kapde kya pehne hai?" she says.

"The most irritating thing that I have observed about the audience is that they compliment a male comic by calling him funny, but when it comes to me--the only adjective they use is bold. Clearly they don't realize how biased they actually are," she explains.

The Elusive Tag Of Being A "Female Comic"The society always associates gender with profession. No, we are not talking about the stereotypes, but the way it addresses women. Take a woman driver for instance, or a female doctor or female cricketer. But, you will never see males being addressed the same way. But, Palta says she has no qualms about being called a female comic.

"I am a female comic and why should I object to it? But, when people introduce me as just a comic or by my name, it does make me happy," she says.

The Sexism Mainly Comes From OutsidePalta says that sexism does exist in comedy, but it mostly comes from outside. "They say completely ridiculous stuff like: you should charge us less money because you are female, you won't share rooms with comics anyway," she says.

"And don't even get me started on how sexist the audiences is. I have received mails or comments on videos that are just about my appearance, which often makes me wonder if these people watch comedy videos on mute!" says Palta.

"This is why I always advice women who are interested in joining the field to have a thick skin. Women are actually born with a voice that tells us that we can't. Sadly, that voice is always ours. What we got to do is fight that voice and get going," she adds.