Objectification of Women Through Metaphors in Stand-up Comedy. From Cars to Banana Bread

Abstract

This paper examines metaphorical expressions labelled under the conceptual metaphor A WOMEN IS AN OBJECT originating from 30 performances by female North American stand-up comedians. By combining the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980/2003) and stand-up comedy research, this corpus- and the dictionary-assisted study examines how women and womanhood are conceptualized in terms of objects such as buildings, food, houseware, or vehicles. The multilevel analysis of the expressions shows that the interplay between the subversive character of stand-up comedy and gendered metaphors allows for reclaiming the power over stereotypical language under the guise of humour.