It just occurred to me, that while I have seen a few female stand-up comics, not one of them has ever been funny.
Any speculation as to why this is such a male-dominated profession?
Should equal-rights activists sue?
Should Dave Chapelle be tarred and feathered?
(O.K., I was joking about the equal-rights activist question)
Ellen Degeneres has done some funny specials on HBO.
Whoopi as well.
I think Kathy Griffin is quite good.
Margaret Cho has some DVDs of shows she has done and I laugh out loud.
And I don’t know her name, but a rather hefty woman was on Jay Leno about three weeks ago and she was hysterical. (Help me here, as I want to remember her name for future specials!)
Oh, and I aslo have laughed at some shows with Roseanne, Joan Rivers and Wanda Sykes.
Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Jo Brand, Sandi Toksvig …
Hmmm, I forgot about Ellen. She is at least marginally funny, but being a lesbian and all I’m not sure it’s the same thing. I’m not very enamored with Whoopi or Roseanne, but Wanda is also marginally funny.
Margaret Cho? No.
Haven’t heard of the other ones mentioned. Maybe I’ll check them out, but if they’re so good why haven’t I already heard of them? 
My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.
She’s ninety-three today and we don’t know where the hell she is.
Ruby Wax! Or the British ladies from " Smack the Pony". We have about two-three succesfull female comedians in the Netherlands as well, although we have more male ones.
Good to see you are open minded and all…
Oh I am. I really do like Ellen.
I think I should explain. I was trying to think about this more from a psychological perspective. I googled all of the women mentioned so far that I didn’t recognize, considered the ones I do, and with the slight exception of Kathy Griffin (who I realized I also recognize), on a superficial level, none of them strike me as having particularly traditional feminine qualities. (and of the ones I recognize, I still only think Ellen and Wanda are funny, but even they don’t bowl me down)
That’s totally fine and cool. I’m just trying to figure out what it is about the traditional social concept of feminity that seems to preclude humor. Maybe that makes it more of a GD but I don’t really want to debate, I just want to hear speculation.
For the most part it is a male-dominated field, however: Sarah Silverman. Whoa.
Forgot to mention Rita Rudner who has been performing non-stop in Las Vegas for years.
[QUOTE=DMarkWhoopi as well.[/QUOTE]
I respectfully disagree.
I’m in total agreement with the OP. I’ve never seen a female comic who can do more than raise a smile from me.
I’m not sure why this is - IRL I know plenty of very funny women. But female comics never do it for me.
10-4.
Anybody who could ask why there are no good female comedians has just not seen/heard the hilarious Sarah. I hear she has a Comedy Central show scheduled to debut this summer. Believe it or not, I heard it HERE.
Brett Butler is pretty funny.
It must just be a matter of preference. I like just about every comedianne mentioned so far. Also Moms Mabley, Felicia Michaels, Laura Hayes, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett, Phyllis Diller, Judy Tenuta…even Joan Rivers was pretty funny back before Melissa went through puberty.
I don’t know how Ellen’s (or Lily’s, for that matter) lesbianism has anything to do with whether or not she’s funny. OR feminine. Her routines before she came out didn’t mention her lesbianism (obviously) but were funny as hell. If it’s the charm of femininity you’re talking about, Rita Rudner (mentioned upthread) almost always performs in formal gowns and is careful to keep her speech refined.
I think an accurate question might have been, “Why don’t I like female comedians?”
If Gilda Radner was not considered a funny comedian, I don’t think anyone (male or female) deserves the title.
I also agree with Whoopi, Lily, Ellen, Roseanne & Carol.
I think the problem is finding the right vehicle for female comedians. The field is an “old boy’s club,” something female comedians have been bitching about for decades.
This probably goes against your “traditionally feminine” clause, but I think Janeane Garafolo is wonderful.
I think you’re talking about Lisa Lampanelli, and yes, she is HYSTERICAL!
Oddly for a “lesbian comedian” Ellen DeGeneres comes across as less strident and “masculine” than a good many non-gay female comedians.
I guess - pretty rough stuff though