Here's What I Learned From Running an All-Women Comedy Show in Arizona

Five bits of wisdom, 40% are about HATERS

During the fall semester of my senior year of college, I missed my first class because I had to meet a man at a bar. Clarifications: it was 2pm, the man owned the bar, and I was meeting him to pitch a spite passion project which was more important than JMC 431 Writing for Public Relations. It was a weekly standup show called Ladykillers.

The year was 2016, the place was Phoenix, Arizona, and the environment for women…not great! Especially young women. Especially young women who were trying to break into the comedy world. At this point, I had been hosting and co-hosting local events for three years and performing standup at least weekly for two years. It was a lot of fun! It was also horrible, every day, no matter what, because at every show—at every show—a man would say something gross to or about me. Out loud. It didn’t matter if I was hosting the show or headlining or just a guest. It didn’t matter if it was an open mic or a paid opportunity. It happened every single time. Sometimes it was just an offhand remark about my breasts, which I was used to, since I’ve had those since I could walk. Other times, it was…worse.

Would you like an example?