Historical and Cultural Contexts

Abstract

Stand-up began with Music Hall in the nineteenth century,17 growing and developing out of pub entertainments in back rooms, where the only women present were prostitutes. It progressed to the solo woman on the bill and a tradition of singing songs in character, such as Marie Lloyd who represented ‘respectablillty’ on the one hand, whilst being viewed as a sexual object within the context of a male-defined sexuality on the other. In Women and Laughter, Frances Gray suggests that the ambivalence of the female performer meant being, ‘engaged in the task of transforming the prostitute-client relationship, simultaneously trading on her sex appeal’ and ‘defamiliarising it’.18 Gray argues that Lloyd offered, ‘an image of what the single woman might achieve’, raising ‘questions about female desire and sexual freedom that the “legitimate” theatre of her day hardly dared to handle.’19 Gray suggests that: the female comic presence in music hall and vaudeville has been seen as an early sign of change in the position of ninetcenth-century women, evidence of at least a few women who managed to come out on top despite the enormous obstacles to their freedom and independence.20 KeywordsSexual ObjectSexual FreedomArtistic DirectorBack RoomTraditional Female RoleThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.