By Jewelle Gomez–
I have wanted to write about Queer comedians for a while, especially since, early in my career, I made the mistake of saying in print that white feminists didn’t have a sense of humor. I am still paying for that!
In 1979, I was on a chartered bus to the first LGBT March on Washington. I was shy because I didn’t know anyone. A woman at the front started playing a cassette of comedian Robyn Tyler that made us all roar together like we’d known each other all our lives; and made me eat my words. Even the male, African American bus driver, who looked stereotypically “not-gay,” was laughing along and able to make eye contact at the next rest stops. The title of Tyler’s show was Always a Bridesmaid Never a Groom, which held true until 1998 when she was among the early couples to marry in California.
Recently, my spouse was listening on her device to Sandy Toksvig, a Danish/British comedian and activist. The talk show host asked Toksvig why she had received her OBE honor from the Queen. Toksvig said: “I can’t remember now. I think it was for services to women. And that’s fair: I’ve serviced a lot of women!” Who could resist that?
Coming from several different groups that have used humor to assuage the oppression by the dominant culture, I think it is valuable to think out loud about laughing; how it educates us about ourselves and how we need to seek it out for our health.
Since my ill-fated comment, I keep meeting funny lesbians of all colors: Marga Gomez (no relation), who tours the country and her shows have the best titles—Spanking Machine, for example.
Even when lesbians were not out back in the day, they were funny. Moms Mabley (1894–1975), who appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show dressed like a granny with no teeth, was, in fact, a dapper butch. Her comedy routines were built around her famous line, “There’s nothing an old man can do for me but introduce me to a young man.” This was especially funny to the many in the audience who knew her as a lesbian.
Marsha Warfield is a comic actor, now on 911. She came to fame on the original Night Court TV show in 1984. She played the court bailiff, looking hot in her uniform. My gaydar was clicking and blinking but the confirmation didn’t come until I saw her do a standup comedy show after Night Court went off the air.
Danitra Vance (1954–1994) blazed across our sky for such a brief, starry time. She appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1985, where she wasn’t used nearly as much as she should have been. But she came out before she passed away and had a hysterical routine for lesbians about a vibrator made by Black and Decker!
Most oppressed groups have found humor to be a “way through no way.” Once I moved to California, I developed a deeper love for comedians especially after I met Karen Williams, who is African American. She has been a standup comic for more than 30 years as well as an educator and founder of the Ha Ha Institute, ( https://hahainstitute.com/ ) which teaches how humor can be used for healing.
Now there are even more lesbian comedians out there—from Hannah Gadsby to Wanda Sykes—and here is a site where you can find one to tickle your laugh-o-meter: https://tinyurl.com/32b4sayw
Even though lesbians are still barely visible in the culture, we have come a long way since those old days. But blessings on YouTube because we can see any of these lesbian comedians who can still make us laugh, show us the roots of our contemporary talent, and keep us moving toward liberation.
Jewelle Gomez is a lesbian/feminist activist, novelist, poet, and playwright. She’s written for “The Advocate,” “Ms. Magazine,” “Black Scholar,” “The San Francisco Chronicle,” “The New York Times,” and “The Village Voice.” Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @VampyreVamp
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Published on February 9, 2023
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