S03E01: Un-stereotyping the female comedian Ft. Radhika Vaz

Intersectional Feminism—Desi Style!

All of us like to laugh, don't we? Humour keeps us going and adds that layer of lightness to our lives. When we look at comedy as a genre, there are various forms of it. There are political jokes, satire, sarcasm, there is sketch comedy, improvisation, imitation, and so on and so forth. But very often, we notice that jokes are gendered, in the sense that most of them are made at the expense of women or gender minorities, and contain sexist, racist, casteist underpinnings. Comedy is an arena where dominant narratives can be re-negotiated, spoofed, questioned, and critiqued. But do we do that? Is our humour convenient and lazy for the most part? And as for comedy as a career, how does this affect women stand-up comics, and what does it mean to be a female comic in today's context in India?

Joining our hosts Shriya and Sukanya in this episode is the charismatic, quirky, and charming Radhika Vaz! Radhika is a comic, writer, and feminist. Over the years, through her performances, Radhika has openly talked about sexism and misogyny prevalent in society. She is also the co-creator of the web series 'Shugs & Fats' which won a Gotham Award. Tune in to this episode as the trio discusses women in comedy, the patriarchal society, re-negotiating dominant gender narratives through creative performances, and much more!

Concept and communications: Japleen Pasricha
Producer: Shriya Roy
Hosts: Sukanya Shaji and Shriya Roy
Cover Art by Shreya Tingal