High-res storyboard: Lady Comics: Who Needs Late Night? We’ve Got Tumblr If you ask a female comedian how social media has impacted her professional life, she will likely respond like Elaine Carroll. “Social media has made my career,” says Carroll, the 30-year-old creator of the Very Mary Kate web series, a spoof of Mary Kate Olsen’s glam life in New York. Remember just a few years back, when comedians (of any gender) relentlessly chased guest spots at the feet of David Letterman and Jay Leno? Getting a gig on late night was the ultimate career boost, but women comedians had to fight through the prejudices both professional (like infamously misogynist Letterman booker Eddie Brill) and cultural (let’s all try to forget that Christopher Hitchens essay). But the level playing field of Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr means no one gets between ambitious talent and a potentially receptive audience. All it takes is perseverance, ability, skill, and infinite patience. “Social media has essentially become my career,” says Kate Spencer, an improv instructor and writer at VH1 who blogs on Tumblr. Consider Ilana Glazer, a New York comedy writer who, when she and writing partner Abbi Jacobson didn’t make it into the improv groups they wanted at Upright Citizens Brigade, decided to take their brand of girl-centric comedy to the web. “We said, ‘Eff this, we’re going to make material for ourselves,’” enthuses Glazer, the co-creator of the Broad City web series.That was 2009. The duo now have a deal with FX. “In the old days, if you got a spot on Carson, your life changed forever,” says Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, who blogs at the Huffington Post. “That’s not true anymore. Do we even need those shows? I don’t think we do.” Women still represent just a fraction of writers on late-night comedy programs, and they only represent 8 percent of directors of Hollywood films. Any female comic knows the comedy industry is rife with sexism. But social media has opened up ways around these traditional paths. A sampling of a dozen women comedians offered up Tumblr and Twitter presences that have become huge in the comedy world — not just as side gigs, but as major marketing tools for these ladies’ work. “Social media has done the same thing for women comedians as it’s done for other movements — it’s given women a way to know they’re not alone,” says Asie Mohtarez, a New York comedian and blogger. “What it does for me is provide daily evidence of women doing it — making weird/crude jokes (gasp), videos, and other content, which I find inspiring and freeing.” There are plenty of other examples. Late Night’s Amy Ozols and Chelsea Lately’s Jen Kirkman have become social media standard-bearers in the comedy world, getting credit for their work in the public sphere. Last year, when The Office’s Mindy Kaling set out to promote her book, she used Tumblr to do it. And Whitney Cummings combined social media and dirty jokes about Bob Saget to get a prime-time show on NBC. But for up-and-coming comics, those outlets can be even more important. “On the internet, no one can limit you, ” Glazer says. For her, that meant constant positive reinforcement of her work, and eventually, a mainstream gig. She joined the likes of author Mariam Kobras, who used her Twitter following to land a book deal she said had “no agent interference, no rejections, no waiting. Or Allie Hagan, a Washington consultant by day and comedian by night, who turned her Suri’s Burn Book Tumblr into a publishing contract. “I’ve gotten several freelance gigs based on Twitter and Tumblr, and I think that’s how a lot of people find me for live stuff,” says Julieanne Smolinski, a columnist for XOJane.com. “I’ve done a couple storytelling shows and some podcasts. I am also willing to do quinceañeras and that thing where you go to high schools and tell people not to be like you.” And, of course, Elaine Carroll of Very Mary Kate, who got a deal with College Humor after producing the series out of pocket. And then got cast on Mad Men. ”There will always be hecklers and Youtube commenter types,” Carroll says of doing comedy on the web. “But the process of something going viral is contingent on it being good. It isn’t based on gender or race or sexual orientation. If your idea is good enough (or weird enough, or contains enough cats jumping into boxes), it won’t be ignored — even if you’re a female lesbian lady woman.” As Mohtarez puts it: “My Tumblr has helped me hone my odd and sometimes dark sense of humor, and to find a little audience for it in between reblogged photos of other people’s breakfasts and titties.” - Alex Leo (Photo courtesy of Ilana Glazer, at left, with Abbi Jacobson, on the set of Broad City)

storyboard:

Lady Comics: Who Needs Late Night? We’ve Got Tumblr

If you ask a female comedian how social media has impacted her professional life, she will likely respond like Elaine Carroll. “Social media has made my career,” says Carroll, the 30-year-old creator of the Very Mary Kate web series, a spoof of Mary Kate Olsen’s glam life in New York.

Remember just a few years back, when comedians (of any gender) relentlessly chased guest spots at the feet of David Letterman and Jay Leno? Getting a gig on late night was the ultimate career boost, but women comedians had to fight through the prejudices both professional (like infamously misogynist Letterman booker Eddie Brill) and cultural (let’s all try to forget that Christopher Hitchens essay).

But the level playing field of Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr means no one gets between ambitious talent and a potentially receptive audience. All it takes is perseverance, ability, skill, and infinite patience.

“Social media has essentially become my career,” says Kate Spencer, an improv instructor and writer at VH1 who blogs on Tumblr.

Consider Ilana Glazer, a New York comedy writer who, when she and writing partner Abbi Jacobson didn’t make it into the improv groups they wanted at Upright Citizens Brigade, decided to take their brand of girl-centric comedy to the web.

“We said, ‘Eff this, we’re going to make material for ourselves,’” enthuses Glazer, the co-creator of the Broad City web series.

That was 2009. The duo now have a deal with FX.

“In the old days, if you got a spot on Carson, your life changed forever,” says Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, who blogs at the Huffington Post. “That’s not true anymore. Do we even need those shows? I don’t think we do.”

Women still represent just a fraction of writers on late-night comedy programs, and they only represent 8 percent of directors of Hollywood films. Any female comic knows the comedy industry is rife with sexism.

But social media has opened up ways around these traditional paths. A sampling of a dozen women comedians offered up Tumblr and Twitter presences that have become huge in the comedy world — not just as side gigs, but as major marketing tools for these ladies’ work.

“Social media has done the same thing for women comedians as it’s done for other movements — it’s given women a way to know they’re not alone,” says Asie Mohtarez, a New York comedian and blogger. “What it does for me is provide daily evidence of women doing it — making weird/crude jokes (gasp), videos, and other content, which I find inspiring and freeing.”

There are plenty of other examples. Late Night’s Amy Ozols and Chelsea Lately’s Jen Kirkman have become social media standard-bearers in the comedy world, getting credit for their work in the public sphere. Last year, when The Office’s Mindy Kaling set out to promote her book, she used Tumblr to do it. And Whitney Cummings combined social media and dirty jokes about Bob Saget to get a prime-time show on NBC.

But for up-and-coming comics, those outlets can be even more important. “On the internet, no one can limit you, ” Glazer says. For her, that meant constant positive reinforcement of her work, and eventually, a mainstream gig.

She joined the likes of author Mariam Kobras, who used her Twitter following to land a book deal she said had “no agent interference, no rejections, no waiting. Or Allie Hagan, a Washington consultant by day and comedian by night, who turned her Suri’s Burn Book Tumblr into a publishing contract.

“I’ve gotten several freelance gigs based on Twitter and Tumblr, and I think that’s how a lot of people find me for live stuff,” says Julieanne Smolinski, a columnist for XOJane.com. “I’ve done a couple storytelling shows and some podcasts. I am also willing to do quinceañeras and that thing where you go to high schools and tell people not to be like you.”

And, of course, Elaine Carroll of Very Mary Kate, who got a deal with College Humor after producing the series out of pocket. And then got cast on Mad Men. ”There will always be hecklers and Youtube commenter types,” Carroll says of doing comedy on the web. “But the process of something going viral is contingent on it being good. It isn’t based on gender or race or sexual orientation. If your idea is good enough (or weird enough, or contains enough cats jumping into boxes), it won’t be ignored — even if you’re a female lesbian lady woman.”

As Mohtarez puts it: “My Tumblr has helped me hone my odd and sometimes dark sense of humor, and to find a little audience for it in between reblogged photos of other people’s breakfasts and titties.”

- Alex Leo

(Photo courtesy of Ilana Glazer, at left, with Abbi Jacobson, on the set of Broad City)

“Congrats, ladies! By today you’ve earned the same as men did in 2011. That gap means that the typical woman working full-time, year round, makes about 77 cents for every dollar a typical man does, and those missing 23 cents can really add up. In a year a woman loses $10,784 to a man – enough to buy about 2,700 gallons of gas. It can add up to a loss of $431,000 in pay for the typical woman over a 40-year career. No small chunk of pocket change.”

Bryce Covert, How to Close the Gender Wage Gap in Just Seven Easy* Steps (via thenationmagazine)

(via thenationmagazine)

“A Ukrainian organization of topless female activists said Tuesday that three members were abducted by Belarussian security officers, beaten, humiliated and left naked in a forest. The group, Femen, has become widely known in Ukraine and neighboring countries for its demonstrations in which women bare their breasts to draw attention to a variety of causes. A statement on Femen’s Web site said the three women were seized by agents of the Belarussian K.G.B.”

NY Times (via thepoliticalpartygirl)

(via politicalpartygirl)

Lady Tumblring! An extra-special Tumblr Tuesday.

rubenfeld:

alexbaca:

(via thepoliticalnotebook)

New York magazine has a really, really excellent piece on modern feminism, and particularly, feminist and female voices on the internet. They provide an abridged list of such blogs, but I thought I’d let you know who some of the important lady bloggers here on Tumblr you should be following. (Note: I know a number of bloggers on this list actively consider themselves feminist, but some may not. Many of their blogs also aren’t exclusively or mostly aren’t about feminism or gender politics.)

Pantsless Progressive. Lots of political wit and tons of information on both domestic and international politics. Also, my Tumblr Wife.

Red Light Politics. Flavia has really sharp critiques of a wide variety of political and cultural topics, based on race, class and gender. She also blogs for Tiger Beatdown.

Kateoplis (Who sent me the link to this piece. Thanks Kate!). She’s an excellent curator of everything from news to art, and also runs a solidarity blog with the Iranian Green movement called Sea of Green.

Jessica Valenti. One of the voices of contemporary feminism, founder of the amazing blog Feministing and author of works like The Purity Myth and Full Frontal Feminism. She is now a columnist for The Daily. 

Mohandas Gandhi. Has a lot of sass. You all are surely following her already, but she’s got all sorts of things to say on the environment, human rights and progressivism. A necessary addition to your Tumblr feed. 

Jess Bennett. Journalist and the current mind behind Newsweek’s tumblr, she writes on women’s issues along with Jesse Ellison on the tumblr blog Equality Myth.

Samia ben Charqui. A Moroccan-American blogger extraordinaire, her thoughts on Moroccan political economy and her takedowns of orientalism have earned her some well-deserved attention around the blogosphere. 

Rachel Fershleiser. A writer, formerly of Housing Works Bookstore, founder of Six-Word Memoirs and creator of the Judgmental Bookseller Ostrich meme. Her blog is full of lit and politics and bookstores. 

This list is not comprehensive!

I’m not going to throw my weight behind the idea of following all the names on this list without exception—because I’ve followed and subsequently unfollowed a few myself—but this is a great starting point for those of you interested in reading blogs of this nature.

I’m going to recommend you follow them anyway, simply because Torie knows what she’s talking about.

“It is an important thing to instill in a younger generation about the impact of rape, the lasting impact of rape. Children from grade school to high school to college are incredibly susceptible and incredibly malleable, as we all know. To get them early, to teach them about the facts and figures and other realities of rape is key. It is an important issue to me as not only a man, but as an educator, as a human being and as a person on this planet.”

Jon Hamm: Hollywood Feminist of the Day

*swoon*

(via ryeisenberg)

High-res thedailyfeed: Anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and temperance activist Frances Willard had an epic media battle a century before such public feuds were cool. The two had much in common. Proponents of female suffrage, public health and child education, they shared goals, friends and the conviction that women should play a role in the public sphere. Yet Wells and Willard were unable to form a productive partnership. Instead, they seriously vexed each other. In the mid-1890s, when they both traveled to England on speaking tours, their disagreements morphed into a cross-Atlantic public media battle.

thedailyfeed:

Anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and temperance activist Frances Willard had an epic media battle a century before such public feuds were cool.

The two had much in common. Proponents of female suffrage, public health and child education, they shared goals, friends and the conviction that women should play a role in the public sphere. Yet Wells and Willard were unable to form a productive partnership. Instead, they seriously vexed each other. In the mid-1890s, when they both traveled to England on speaking tours, their disagreements morphed into a cross-Atlantic public media battle.

herzundseele:

simplyann:

I appreciate what bell hooks says here about spectacle.  Online, my approach to large media blitzes by the celebrity of the hour is to ignore commenting on them period.  I don’t do this not because I have nothing to say or because I’m not paying attention.  I am. And often times I’m personally affected by the capital I Issues that play out in a Chris Brown and Rhianna scenario, or a Kanye West outburst, or John Mayer’s diarrhea of the mouth.

But to comment on those spectacles while they are still running their course means I participate in the systemic problems which leak around the edges, limiting the possibility of solutions. We are all too heated, too eager to get that one snarky tweet edgewise to understand that 1) human beings are at the center of the spectacle 2) the spectacle is often an extreme - but not uncommon - scenario of what happens in more human lives and 3) we thus trivialize real human stories when we contribute to the spectacle.