Stop Smiling: On Women, Comedy, and Being Done With Making Myself Smaller
Published on: 08/03/2026
A personal and cultural look at female anger in comedy, likability, and why women are still expected to smile while challenging the world.
female anger in comedywomen in sitcomswomen in British comedyfemale characters in sitcomslikeability culturewomen and humourgender double standards in comedyfeminist comedy analysiswomen being told to smilefemale rage in mediacomedy and patriarchyrepresentation of women in sitcomswomen and authenticitycultural commentary of comedycomedy and social commentarywomen and likeabilityhumour and gender normswomen in television writingwhy women are told to smilewhy female anger makes people uncomfortable

