Breaking the comedic glass ceiling

Comedy and feminism seem to be at war since the 1960’s. I question if these two genres could be blended in a Kitchen Aid mixer. Comedy in general is a male dominated genre;there are only a handful of current mainstream female comedians, such as Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, Chelsea Handler, and Anna Faris. The majority of late night talk shows since the 1960’s have also had single male hosts. Why is the comedic entertainment industry male concentrated? Is the idealistic conception of women being quiet, passive objects that cannot utter words of profanity, be the reason behind this? Why are there only a few handful female comedians present? Certainly there is a particular social reason why this is the case. However, there are many women out there trying to break these social restrictions/taboos.

It is known that major South Asian comedians tend to be male; it is quite rare to find a South Asian female comedian. We are all aware of Russell Peters, Sugar Sammy, Aziz Ansari, Sean Majumder, Jus Reign,and Aka Amazing. However, thanks to Much Music, we have a young female face added to the list. Sabrina Jalees is cute, intellectually witty – all mixed with a hint of “spicy” crude humour. Diffident, proudly offbeat, her often-childlike air of wonderment, has won over a fan base tired of cynical comedy. Hailing from a background of Pakistani and Swedish heritage, racial tensions in her teenage years, did anything but stall her willingness to make people laugh. Sabrina has fiercely risen to the top of her game and surpasses goals like being the youngest comic to tour for Yuk Yuk’s, the youngest comic to record a Comedy Now special and the youngest stand-up to perform at the prestigious Just For Laughs festival in Montreal.

Sabrina’s comedy draws on her childhood experiences of the culture clash and of the death threats against her father (racial tensions were prevalent), but she also focuses on more everyday observations of life and relationships, giving audiences the impression that they’re chatting with an old friend who can be charming and cantankerous in the same breath. The crude element of her humour is what makes her a great comedic artist, similar to her male counter parts, Russell Peters and Sugar Sammy – she presents a no holds bar approach to comedy. Liberally making sexual, racial, gender biased jokes, and any seriously focused topic that so desperately needs a laugh aloud release. I recently caught up with Sabrina and spoke about her life and many accomplishments as a writer and comedian.

My first impression of Sabrina was her down-to-earth, ‘salt-of the earth’ type personality. Nevertheless, her delightful, hilarious humour shines through. I could immediately identify why she has easily nestled into the conversations of every Much Music viewer- you just cannot help liking her. Sabrina bluntly stated that she does not mind it when fans go up to her and ask her for an autograph. I was astonished by this, because there is a stereotypical perception local and international celebrities wish to be left alone, and are generally standoffish. She does not understand why some celebrities feel overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of fans wishing to speak to them, or asking for a simple autograph. Sabrina stated, “Fans are your clients,” it is important for celebrities to establish an approachable relationship with them.

As for Sabrina’s life, I asked her a few questions regarding why she chose comedy as a profession. She stated that she always liked being in the center of attention while growing up, and frequently performed at school assemblies and other school related events. She felt more nervous while performing at school, because there is more of a risk associated with it. The risks are the ridicule that one may get by peers if one makes a mistake or goofs-up while up on the school stage.

Sabrina is a true Torontonian, culturally diverse by nature; she grew up being immersed in both her Pakistani and Swedish cultural frameworks. She spoke openly about how Canada is all about a mixture of different cultural frameworks – her father is Pakistani and Sabrina grew up around many South Asian Aunties and Uncles. Therefore, she can engross herself with both her South Asian and European sides. She noted her observation that whenever she is with a group of South Asians she is labelled as the half-white woman. However, whenever she is socializing with a group of white people she is always known as the half-brown woman. Almost like a double agent, Sabrina notes it is like having a dual identity. Perhaps troubling as a teenager in some circumstances, today her identity is affirmed as being multicultural. Alternatively, in Sabrina’s comical words, “If You Don’t Like Me You’re Probably Raciest.”

As for Sabrina’s career, she received her first break as a stand-up comic during her early teens while performing at Yuks Yuks. After noticing an opportunity to perform at a night devoted to discovering young, fresh comics, Sabrina signed up. She did such an outstanding job during her first gig that the owner of all the Canadian Yuk Yuks venues called her into his office. He told her immediately,“She was made of Green,”which meant she was made of money. After completing high school, Sabrina pursued a post-secondary education in Radio and Television Production at Ryerson University.

Her second big break was working on Much Music’s Video-On-Trial, where Sabrina and many other young Canadian comedians insult music videos. Sabrina has stated that she had a great time working on Video-On-Trial because it was a great venue for herself and her fellow comic co-hosts to be themselves and complete an easy task in insulting popular music videos. She enjoyed working on Video-On-Trial because she enjoyed “working with cool people” and became good friends with fellow cast member, Debra DiGiovanni.

Sabrina has also starred in ‘Flashpoint’ and ‘Mom at Sixteen’, which are on American television networks and Canada’s famous comedy show “Just For Laughs”. Along with a stint writing for ‘Toronto Star, Sabrina has also been on CBC radio nationally, on a show called “Laugh Out Loud”. To add to her accolades, she was nominated for a Gemini, hosting a children’s reality show on YTV called “In Real Life”. Later she co-hosted “Stars Gone Wild” on Much Music where her alter ego, Ranjita was revealed nationally.

Sabrina is currently auditioning for parts in L.A. and is trying to break into the American entertainment industry. She has submitted a writing package to the Chelsea Lately show, along with touring parts of the US, performing her stand-up routines. I asked Sabrina if she gets nervous whenever she is doing stand-up routines. Her response was that she gets nervous when she goes up. However,as a comic having a thick skin is crucial – some nights the whole crowd is laughing at your jokes and during some nights there are not enough laughs being thrown at you.

I felt it only appropriate to ask Sabrina why there are not enough female comedians and even fewer South Asian female comedians in the industry. Sabrina answered the second question by stating that stereo typically South Asian Aunties and Uncles tend to want their daughters or nieces to get an education and settle down. Therefore, the expectations for South Asian women to enter comedy are conventionally quite low, based on customs and tradition.

It is also hard for women to enter comedy because comedy in general is about being able to take power and control of the audience. Throughout time, prominent, deeply serious men have argued that women have no sense of humour. Shakespeare did not agree, and the 19th-century English novelist George Meredith suggested that without the tempering wit of women there could be no real comedy at all. The socialized expectations for women to enter comedy have been non-prevalent since the beginning of time, women were expected to become homemakers and not enter professional roles. It was not until the 1960’s that women were starting to radicalize and enter professional roles, but comedy was never a highly valued option.

Sabrina spoke more about power, control, and how on-stage comics initiate power through a blunt humorous style – all with no regrets. Therefore, men are socialized in being individuals who can take control of the audience. Sabrina stated that “Stand-up men make you uncomfortable” – this uncomfortable feeling is not generally associated or accepted with women. At the end of the day Sabrina stated, “We are all people,” it doesn’t matter what you are.” While Sabrina made her points, it got me thinking – over the years in the classroom, any recollection of class clowns or students, who made everyone laugh, have all been male. Not one in my experience was female or South Asian in descent.

I asked Sabrina if women comedians are propelled to masculinize their image in order to be recognized by the industry. She stated no, regardless if the female comic is feminine or non-feminine, having a thick skin is the only arsenal needed, especially since the industry is very dog-eat-dog. When asked who her role models are, Sabrina listed off a long list of notables like, Ellen Degeneres, Sarah Silverman, Margret Cho, Steve Martin and Russell Peters. She went on to note her rationale for choosing Ellen Degeneres was because of her interesting career path – Ellen had her vicissitudes within the industry, she started as a stand-up comic. She then moved her way into having her own sitcom. Once the sitcom was over, Ellen ventured into becoming a daytime television host. Sabrina also likes Russell Peter’s style of comedy, because much of his stand-up routines revolve around the concept of culture. More specifically, he satirizes the many aspects of Canadian culture and its multicultural framework.

On the topic of Chelsea Handler being the only late night female talk show host, Sabrina again alluded to the concept of power and commanding an audience at a late hour. “It is all connected with gender expectations, which hopefully will be completely broken within the next few years. Chelsea Handler does command the audience and has a no-holds-bar approach to her comedic routines.”

Sabrina has featured character comedy, jokes, and sketches drawing heavily on her roots and keen observations of ordinary women’s experiences. In fact, I have always had a kick out of watching Sabrina perform acts through her alter ego Ranjita, I asked her on how she came up with this character. Sabrina state he imagined what it would be like if her dad never left Pakistan and married a Pakistani woman. If that was the case then Sabrina thought she would be a product of that relationship and would have grown up in Pakistan. Sabrina noted, “Ranjita is an over exaggerated character, who is backwards, in her early 30’s, has many children, and probably was married through an arranged marriage.” While her description of this mock character is not representative of Pakistani women, the extreme backwardness of the character is quite humorous. Sabrina has performed the Ranjita character during her stand-up routines and on Much Music’s“Stars Gone Wild”. Besides Ranjita, Sabrina has created other characters such as Sabreefa, the Ghetto Latino Senorita and Bootsy, the Bishop (a female pimp).

The idea that women are not funny—and which male said that?—seems pretty laughable these days. TV has unleashed a new generation of comedians, who act, perform stand-up, write, and direct dishing out humorous comedy at a whim. Certainly, the rewards of wit are not nearly as ample for women as for men, and sometimes-funny women are actually penalized. However, as Sabrina demonstrates, funny women can be youthful, good-looking, and very witty. She has become one of Canada’s most recognizable comedians. She delivers a good message about minorities overcoming obstacles, so it is hard to dislike her acts. She is a super gifted stand-up comic and character actress with a penchant for outrageous humorous skits is making a name for herself and every South Asian. Sabrina Jalees – thanks for breaking the proverbial glass ceiling.