Bloomers members reflect on stereotypes against women in comedy amid spring show

A packed Iron Gate Theatre clapped and laughed for two hours at the spring Bloomers show this weekend. But behind the jokes and skits, Bloomers members are constantly pushing against the stereotypes that hinder women in comedy.

Bloomers, Penn’s female comedy troupe, puts on an original sketch comedy show each semester, with their most recent performance, “The Great(ish) Show,” running from Feb. 27 to Feb. 29. Bloomers cast members said although the group is becoming increasingly popular on campus, as women, they often have to work harder and be smarter than men to put on a successful show. 

Bloomers cast member and College first-year Megan Striff-Cave said that there is a commonly-held stereotype that women cannot be as funny as men. Bloomers cast member and College junior Reagan Bracknell added although she has never been explicitly told she cannot be funny, she believes it is easier for men to succeed in comedy.

“Men can come out in a dress and that’s the punchline and it’s hilarious,” Striff-Cave said. “When a woman comes out in a suit, that’s not the joke. They need to come out in a suit and say something funny.”

Bracknell said this discrepancy between male and female humor forces Bloomers to be smarter and more deliberate about the bits and jokes they choose to include in the show. Bracknell added, for example, men in comedy can be more vulgar without being “unladylike.”

Penn's all-male comedy troupe Mask and Wig has been on Penn’s campus for over 130 years, allowing them to benefit from more substantial alumni support and a longer campus presence than Bloomers, Striff-Cave said. Bracknell said that while most of the Bloomers' audience is composed of members' friends, Mask and Wig is able to draw more attention from alumni and the larger Philadelphia community.

Striff-Cave added that Mask and Wig has more opportunities to perform thanks to their Clubhouse in Center City, which was acquired by the group in 1894 and is where they perform their annual production every Friday and Saturday from January to April. 

Bloomers began 42 years ago because there was no place for them in the all-male troupe on campus, Mask and Wig. Bracknell and Striff-Cave said that while Bloomers and Mask and Wig currently have a positive relationship, some Bloomers alumni still feel animosity toward Mask and Wig for excluding women from their group.

“Our alumni really like to harp on the fact that Bloomers existed as a product of [Mask and] Wig not letting in women,” Bracknell said. “We’ve sort of moved on from that. It’s been 40 years. We’re over it.”

College sophomore and Mask and Wig Business Staff member Jack Kalvar attended the Feb. 27 Bloomers performance with other members of Mask and Wig to support the female troupe. Kalvar said the two groups have a great support system which involves going to each other’s shows and hosting group social events for both troupes.

“One of their things is, 'crack jokes, break ceilings.' [Bloomers is] trying to break the ceiling of women can’t be funny,” Kalvar said. “In comedy, the majority of famous comedians are men that get the most airtime. They’re really trying to push back against those boundaries, and I admire that.”

Bloomers' “The Great(ish) Show” had a three-part circus-themed feature that ran throughout the show, with bits and musical numbers in between. Some skits offered social commentary on topics such as catcalling, while others made fun of Penn by cracking jokes about The Wharton School and BYOs. 

Bracknell added that while women still face difficulties in comedy, some of the most successful comedians today include Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Melissa McCarthy, all of whom are women and have helped overcome the idea that it is harder for women to be funny. 

"What [women] have to work with is a lot more limited because of the restrictions society has placed on women, but being a woman in comedy is as good as it's ever been," Bracknell said.