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INDEX
Academy Awards, 1–4
activism: and Black women, 176, 182; and Hope Flood, 79; and Fannie Lou Hamer, 37; and Nikole Hannah-Jones, 63, 64; maverick, 61; and Annell Ponder, 39; and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, 62
African Americans: and Civil War, 39; comedians, 27, 32, 133–35, 72, 157–58, 198n35; and creativity, 147; culture of, 47, 103, 160, 177–79; experiences of, 30–32; and girl groups, 105; Issa Rae, 145; marginalization of, 64; and minstrelsy, 48; Obama family, 22, 133; performance culture of, 160; and racial Blackness, 30; and sass, 31, 46; satirists, 27, 133; and sexuality, 175; and South Africans, 172; speech of, 44, 46, 176; stand-ups, 135; Ida B. Wells-Barnett, 62, 64; and women, 5
Ahmed, Sara, 13, 70
Alexander, Elizabeth, 127, 129, 147
America, 39, 62; and comedy, 133; and culture, 24, 48, 58, 78, 85, 140; history of, 65; and music, 100–101; and racism, 63, 153; and sass, 14; and slavery, 65
“Americanness,” 24; slavery and, 63–65
American South, 52, 56–57, 67
anger: alliances of, 162; and Black women, 19, 21, 38, 119, 121, 184; and eros, 17, 19; and Jackie “Moms” Mabley, 54; and political protest, 176; politics of, 15; righteous, 16
apartheid: and cultural practices, 31, 161, 177; end of, 160, 163–64; and humor, 161; policies of, 163, 165, 171, 176–77; and racial order, 35; and violence, 160–61
Ask A Slave (web series), 57, 59–60; Lizzie Mae, 57–60
audiences: and awkwardness, 134–36; and Black performers, 105, 107–9, 127–28, 131, 134–37, 166, 182; of Black women’s comedy, 13, 43, 67–70, 72–77, 79–82, 86, 92–96, 102, 111–15, 119, 121–23, 126, 129, 142–51, 157–58, 160–62, 164, 166, 169–75, 177–78, 183, 192n4, 193n39; and comedy, 111; experiences of, 6, 27–28, 72, 77, 80, 95; global, 32; public, 96; reactions of, 2, 76–77, 79, 82, 84; and vulnerability, 96; white, 18, 139–40, 153
Avilez, GerShun: and aesthetic redress, 100; and bathrooms, 121–22; and comics, 104; and gender expression, 114; and otherwise-genders, 102, 124; and sass, 104; and space of injury, 99; and vulnerability, 107
awkwardness: and alternative comedy, 134–35, 146; “Black girl,” 136–38, 145, 155, 167, 171–72; celebration of, 133; and function of, 140–41, 145–46; and sass, 133, 147; and self-deprecation, 172; and whiteness, 172
Baderoon, Gabeba, 31
Bailey, Marlon M., 2, 99, 116
Bentley, Gladys, 101–4, 107
“bitches”: bad, 146–47; bitchiness, 51; “Black,” 12; and Black women, 67, 69, 80, 84, 114, 126, 154, 173; and Blaxploitation films, 15; butch, 112–13; “bitches” (continued) and comedy, 76, 79–80, 112, 117–18, 123–24, 154; and Sam Jay, 115; and raunchiness, 81–82, 123–24; regular, 118; and sass, 154; skinny, 84; trans, 118
Black culture: and Black comics, 99, 136, 169; and Black women, 98, 176, 185n3; and cultural formation, 98, 159, 166; and discourse, 99; and experiences, 130, 136; and hybridity, 199n77; and identities, 140, 144, 183; and institutions, 131–32, 138; and marketplace, 100; and material, 98, 100, 104, 143, 155, 158–60, 178, 180, 182; and pop culture, 108; and practices, 179; and rituals, 109; and roots, 136; signifiers of, 133, 136; and South Africa, 171
Black feminine propriety, 1
Black feminism, 14, 16, 18, 77; and activism, 127, 182; and comedy, 7–8, 52; and comics, 57, 60; and diaspora, 35; and discourse, 12; ethos, 94, 127, 184; and heroes, 86; and humor, 7–8, 60, 182–83; and performance, 8, 34; and politics, 3, 8, 27, 56, 82, 94, 101; radical, 71, 99; and rage, 11; and sass, 25–26; and stand-up comedy, 26; and stereotypes, 86
“Black girl awkwardness,” 136–38, 167
Black Girl Giggles Comedy Festival, 112–13, 115, 120
Blackness: anti-, 154; and authenticity, 142, 145; celebration of, 172; constructions of, 163; and cultural identification, 144; definitions of, 30, 125; elements of, 199n7; expectations of, 129, 140, 158; experiences of, 144; “failed,” 94; fantasies of, 151; and “femaleness,” 117; and humor, 31, 95; idea of, 163; (mis)representations of, 48, 58; norms of, 137; performance of, 27, 125; post-slavery, 58; production of, 159; racial, 30; and racial hegemony, 145; reception of, 68, 140, 158; representations of, 131, 140, 179; and Maya Rudolph, 138; and sass, 20, 30; and status, 171; and stereotypes, 135
Black performance tradition, 19–20, 130–32, 142, 155
Black women: and authority, 15; and awkwardness, 137, 146; and behavior, 87; and blackface, 48; “butch bitches,” 113; and carnivalesque, 173–74; and comic culture, 159–60, 162, 167–68, 170; as comics, 13–14, 25, 28, 30–32, 34–35, 51–52, 54, 72–73, 78–87, 89, 92, 97–98, 107–9, 111, 114, 129–34, 140–41, 149–50, 153–56, 158, 161–62, 165–66, 168, 173–76; dehumanization of, 2, 4, 12, 15, 18; demonization of, 12; and drag performances, 56; and enslavement, 2; and entertainment industry, 51–52, 105, 135–36, 159, 177–78; and essentialism, 128; experiences of, 26, 101–2, 126, 179; and explicitness, 11; and female masculinity, 101, 121; and feminism, 25, 34, 82; and freedom, 4, 40–41, 51, 164; and gender, 119; humor, 24, 32–33, 42–45, 47–48, 50, 54, 157–58; as humorists, 5–6, 24–28, 30–31, 60–61, 147–48; humor tradition of, 24–25; inner lives of, 4; and Harriet Jacobs, 46; language of, 43–44; and liberation, 5, 23, 25, 28, 45; and literacy, 43; and lynching, 62; masculine, 123–24; and master-slave dialectic, 54; as musicians, 9–10, 12, 50; as performers, 9; and podcasting, 152; and pornography, 71; and public performance, 128; racism toward, 151–52; rage of, 14, 17; and sass, 5–7, 14–23, 26–27, 31, 33, 41, 50–51, 54–55, 74, 104, 108, 184; and self-defense, 44; and sexual desire, 12; and sexual domination, 44; and sexual imagery, 75; and sexuality, 60, 83; singers, 105; and slavery, 31, 47, 59, 78, 185n3; and Will Smith, 3; and “unwoman” (term), 2; and vaudeville, 47; violence toward, 8, 12, 60; and “WAP,” 7, 10; and womanhood, 183–84
bodies, 89; and autonomy, 102; Black, 121, 133, 173; and Black female comics, 52, 54, 69–70, 79, 82; Black female masculine, 105; and Black humanity, 49; butch body politics, 34, 52, 94–95, 98, 100, 111, 120; and erotic pleasure, 34, 75; fat, 176; female, 92, 94–96, 113–14, 117, 134, 137, 166, 174–79; function of, 151; and harm, 121; and humor, 6, 33, 158; and liberation, 174; and ownership, 50; and LaWanda Page, 76; pained, 47; and race, 30; and sass, 54; and white imaginary, 30; and womanhood, 140
Brown, Eric S., 133
Brown, Jayna, 30, 47–50
Bunu, Khanyisa, 35, 166–69, 175, 198n35
butchness: Black, 34, 52, 54, 91, 94–96, 98–100, 106, 111, 114–16, 118–20, 123, 192n4; and comfortability, 93; and comics, 105, 111; expressions of, 107; and femmeness, 111; and Sam Jay, 110; and legibility, 111, 116; and lesbians, 98; and masculinity, 91–92, 100; and physicality, 34; and poetry, 97; presentation of, 108, 118; and sass, 99, 102, 104, 107, 116–17, 119, 121–22, 124; signifiers of, 113, 116; theories of, 110; and womanhood, 94
Byer, Nicole, 34, 132, 141–43
Cardi B, 6–7, 9–10, 12
Caribbean, 43
Chicago, 29, 52, 80, 136
Cho, Margaret, 132, 143
comedy, 3, 74, 116, 127–28, 153; and abjection, 95, 145; alternative, 130–37, 149, 155, 182–83; and autoethnography, 29; Black, 29, 50, 78–79, 133, 135, 143, 148, 153, 165–66, 195; Black butch, 105, 111, 114, 123; and Black culture, 158; Black feminist, 7–8, 26, 52, 82, 129; and Black masculine women, 34; and Black women, 78, 145, 148, 159, 174, 181, 184; business of, 80; as career, 48; clubs, 14, 67, 73, 78, 92, 95, 157; and community of laughter, 13; and economy of humor, 34; and efficacy, 178; and erotic pleasure, 73; and femininity, 116; festivals, 17, 109, 112, 163–64; and freedom, 68; industry, 79, 109, 129, 149; and interiority, 128; and knowledge, 20; and live performances, 28, 32, 84, 173; and Luenell, 68; marketplace, 149–50; and monologue style, 51; and national tours, 84; and Celeste Ntuli, 170; LaWanda Page, 73–74; and performance, 128, 141, 148, 160; podcasts, 147; politics of, 35, 83; and power, 100; public, 96, 98; and raunch, 72, 79; and sass, 5, 89, 97, 128; and sex, 79, 88; and sexual politics, 25, 77; and shock, 68, 74; shows, 14, 17, 28–29, 11, 119, 135–36, 141, 148; skits, 6; and slavery, 48; in South Africa, 35, 159, 161, 163–64, 166–70, 175–79; specials, 17, 108–11, 117, 141, 146, 167, 172, 176, 179, 183; venues, 28, 100; vernac, 164–65, 173; and vulgarity, 75, 79; and vulnerability, 129, 156; Marsha Warfield, 105–6; women, 98, 125–26; working class, 81; writers, 57, 99, 109; Gina Yashere, 87; Sasheer Zamata, 139–40
