Humour as Antihistamine in the Discourse of Persian Stand-Up Comedy

Abstract

This chapter delves into feminine humour as reflected in the discourse of Persian stand-up comedy. It opens a window on the humour created by the female participants of an Iranian stand-up comedy contest in 2016. This contest was the first of its kind in Iran. More notably,it marked the debut of female stand-up comedians on Iranian TV. Millions of Iranian viewers watched and voted for their favourite stand-up comedians. In total,two female comedians took part in the contest,appearing four times on the stage. In this chapter,it is primarily discussed how humour can create a safe milieu for a stand-up comedian to adopt new identities and address controversial issues (particularly within a hegemonic society with limited freedom of expression). Hence,humour is,metaphorically,conceptualised as an antihistamine which enables a humourist to touch upon topics that otherwise may be frowned upon by authorities and/or the public. Through a content (thematic) analysis of the stand-up performances,several instances of such socio-cultural allergens are singled out and discussed. ‘Antihistamine’ within the context of this chapter is also a phonological pun on the Persian word ‘his’ (pronounced as /hɪs/ meaning hush,hence antihistamine: anti-hush). Thus,this chapter also sheds light on how humour empowers female stand-up comedians to speak up for Iranian women,giving voice to ‘the devoiced’ and making them safely heard by a huge number of audiences. This is further discussed by drawing upon Foucault’s notion of ‘reverse discourse’ and against a socio-cultural backdrop of (post-revolutionary) Iran. The chapter concludes with a note on the Aristotelian mode of persuasion and the healing and harming effects of stand-up comedy.