I sort of don’t know what to think about Amy Schumer at this point. My instinct is to like her, to root for her, to cheer her on when she’s making great points and parodying the people and concepts that desperately need to be parodied. But I also think she needs to grow as a comedian, especially in areas around race and how she deals with criticism. It sort of feels like Amy is the new Lena Dunham, in that she’s praised by white feminists and becomes something like a critical darling/controversy machine. Anyway, Amy covers the new issue of Glamour to promote her new film, Trainwreck. You can read the cover interview here. Some highlights:
Becoming a new face of feminism: “It was very unexpected. I don’t try to be feminist. I just am. It’s innately inside me. I have no interest in trying to be the perfect feminist, but I do believe feminists are in good hands with me.”
Calling out sexism: “Every woman deals with it most every day of their lives. Growing up, it’s just in your day-to-day. There are all these preconceived notions of what it means to be a woman or a girl, and straying from those ideas of femininity is sort of shocking to people. I felt angered by that as a kid. I felt like that was unjust. Like that was not right.”
The “she must have slept with someone to get that” rumor: “Yeah, that sh-t. And the whole ‘Who did she sleep with?’ to get whatever? I’ve never slept with anyone who could help me at all. No one. I wish I had. If anything, everyone I’ve had sex with has been a real step in the wrong direction.”
Setting boundaries: “I hope I do influence other women to set better boundaries for themselves. You’ve got to be vocal. You let people know. Their ego’s a little bruised. Then they adapt… I have gotten death threats—that was scary. But it just made me want to use my voice more.”
Her comment that she’s “160 pounds and can still catch a d—k”: “If a guy was like, “I can get p–sy whenever I want,” that guy would be a dickhead. But to deny that there’s a major difference is ridiculous. For women, we’re taught to eat less until we disappear. And trained to believe that if you don’t look like everyone else, then you’re unlovable. And men are not trained that way. Men can look like whatever and still date a supermodel. I’m proud of what I said. I think it’s good to see somebody saying: I have a belly. And I have cellulite. And I still deserve love. And to catch the old D. And to not apologize.
Fashion: “Not everyone’s wired to understand how to dress. I don’t have that chip. I’ve sometimes not even wanted to leave the house because I can’t find an outfit. I feel best when someone who knows what they’re doing and knows me has dressed me. So ask a friend!”
Her life goals: “I just want to get the most money I can. Sorry. I want to make women laugh. I want to make them feel beautiful in their own skin. I want to empower them to use their voice and not apologize. And I want a jet.”
You know how I just said that it feels a bit like she’s the new Lena Dunham? After reading this interview, I think that’s a fair assessment in that… Amy is still evolving, which is what we saw with Lena too. Lena was insufferable when she first hit it, and while I still find her insufferable, her messages around politics and women’s issues in particular have evolved. So, yeah, Amy says some interesting things and I’m glad she’s one of many (loud) voices talking about sexism, feminism and empowerment these days, but I think she still has some growing to do. Part of the problem is not even Amy’s act, her show or her person, it’s how the media is reacting to her. When the first question out of the gate is about whether she speaks for feminists now, that’s a media problem not an Amy Schumer problem.
Photos courtesy of Glamour.
See Chelsea Handler – this is what a hardworking and truly talented female comedienne looks like.
And Amy did this without sleeping her way to the top, without buying famous people, without constantly attacking other women and most importantly without being naked all the time.
Totally agree!
Ha i was going to get all huffy thinking you were praising Handler……….THEN i reread and agreed with you 😛
Yeah, I read it wrong too! I think there was supposed to be a comma after “See.” 😉 Yes, I agree.
@Amy: my dad used to say “the comma killed the man” and now I understand why.
I cannot believe that because of a comma – I ended up sounding like I praised the vile Chelsea Handler….
Thats how she acts now she’s looking to blow up, she was just as bad as Chelsea before Judd Apatow took her under his wing. She’s just pandering for popularity. She’s surrounded by good writers on her show, she isn’t writing that stuff her self and that’s fact.
Someone’s just jealous
Mark – yes. They’re still trying to make fetch happen here.
HAA! I am always say Amy reminds me of this generation’s Chelsea Handler, but with a modicom of self respect. that said, I still cannot bring myself to be a fan….Something is off. Not sure what, but something doesn’t work for me… I like the Broad City girls brand of humor, and that Jenny Slater chicka much much more.
that said, I’m glad she’s having this moment- its beneficial to all women.
And she’s actually funny.
idk, lena has other issues in general (like what she wrote about her sister in her book, for instance…). I’d say amy major problem is that she’s somewhat ignorant on certain issues, but aren’t we all? it’s about growing and improving, and i hope she goes in that direction, because i quite like her.
Cute photos.
I like her SOOO much better than Lena Dunham.
Me too, and better than Chelsea.
She’s so so much better. I can’t stand Lena and her privilege. And apparently she is my celebrity doppelgänger. People tell me we look alike all the time. It’s the worst.
Agreed! Totally disagree with Amy being the new Lena Dunham. She’s unapologetic, sure, but not in the insufferable way Lena is. I like that she can be a little cocky-she couldn’t be more correct in her statement that women have so much pressure to be thin and beautiful in order to be considered desirable or lovable. “Catch the old d” made me laugh out loud-something else Lena Dunham has never done.
Me too. I don’t even watch her show or whatever, but I already like her better. There is something about Lena that just instantly irritates me.
Wanted to say the same thing. I’ve always disliked Lena Dunham as soon as I read about her and Girls. I had heard about Amy Schumer, saw one of her videos, and instantly liked her. I watched more of her videos and they made me laugh and I thought to myself that someone like Amy is much needed in our culture. I think women of different races can identify with her and I love that she is a fairly attractive/normal woman with meat on her bones. Dunham is an embarrassment to plus size women. She’s just a train wreck with bad fashion sense.
Why does she keep talking about her weight and body? It seems like that she is all she ever says. I find only about 10% of the things she says funny. Sara Silverman = a lot funnier.
Talking about feminist comedians, does anyone know Sara Pascoe? She’s amazing.
Link?
I get the sense that this is what she’s being asked about, or criticized for, by the public or even the people who she works for on TV. It’s just not that common to see a woman who isn’t super thin get her own show and people feel a need to attack that or attack her on it.
After hearing a lot about Amy I went on you tube to watch some of her stand up, to check her out. Nope, sorry nothing…I watched 20 minutes and did not laugh once. She was boring , jokes felt old hat, she wasn’t an intriguing storyteller. Pohler and Fey make me crack up often, so I am ready to laugh…..Just not at her.
I was starting to feel like I was the only one! I just didn’t find her show when it first came out that funny and her stand-up doesn’t seem that great.
Ultimately the only unforgivable sin for a comic is to be unfunny!
I really adore her show! I’m precisely the target audience though, since I’m about the same age as Amy.
I’m also her target audience, don’t find her funny. At all.
She is so not funny that I feel less funny watching her try to be funny.
Im her target audience and I’ve tried her show and her stand up and sorry she isn’t funny. She goes for the easy trashy joke. I mean I want to like her because I think it’s good to have different voices but I don’t think her voice is actually different, I think she parrots Judd appattro (sp).
Sorry but she isn’t writing smart insightful thought provoking feminsit comedy- I will stick with Amy, Mindy and Kristen for that.
I did not think much of her comedy until I saw her stand up videos last night. She’s not perfect, I mean, all comics (except for Chris Rock and George Carlin) have their short comings. But seriously, I was really impressed.
I don’t think she goes for the easy joke at all. What I saw was someone who mixes trashy, honest sex talk with cerebral logic tricks. She makes you think she’s going one direction and then gives you the old, one, two, while making you blush. She proved to me that she is really smart. Her jokes are sometimes elaborate, too. She clearly works hard. I think she has a lot of potential, especially if she moves outside of gender/sex issues.
I actually like her more now than I did before. I am pushing 40 and have cellulite and stretch marks (and I’ve never had kids, my weight is perfectly stable, etc) and sometimes I get really down about how I look. It’s fun and refreshing to hear / see a woman just be very out there about how it doesn’t make her any less sexy or desirable…be she Amy Schumer or anyone else.
I think she has the looks that a lot of men really like–cute, fun, curvy–up for anything. It’s a myth that men only want the famine victim look. I’m old enough to make this assessment, lol.
I think a lot of intelligent men looking for their equal would absolutely love to day a woman like Amy Schumer. She isn’t stick thin, but she is nowhere near obese either. She is just someone of average height, weight, and looks. But she’s funny, interesting, and someone a lot of guys would have a lot of fun with. I think most men would dislike Lena Dunham and find her to be an automatic turn-off in terms of her looks and type of humor.
Totally agree. My genetics have given me legs covered with cellulite. I have stretch marks and things are starting to sag. I was really down on myself, but I finally F it. I even bought a bikini for my vacation. I’m tired of being down on myself as if how my body looks really matters in who I am.
Don’t like my body on the beach? Tough, saggy t!ts.
Tough saggy tits is perfect!!!! I’m going away for a long weekend with girlfriends next month and have been dreading the bathing suit thing because I have one friend who doesn’t eat lol. She’s now skinny and while I don’t want her body (I’m the opposite, short with boobs), I am already comparing my belly to hers and almost wanting to not go away as I’m not thrilled with how I look in a bikini. You’re right Jenns – F it. I want to go swimming and tan my belly and celly!!
I like Amy and I find her humour refreshing and hilarious. Her parody of 12 Angry Man was a little masterpiece. So good and on-point.
She’s not afraid of sounding tacky, vulgar or “not feminine enough”. She talks and behaves like most girls do when men aren’t around (well, at least that’s what me and my girlfriends do, and we do it regardless of the sex of our company).
It’s about time female comedians got some praise and worldwide recognition!
I do like Amy (she does crack me up) and what she says about women but I wish she would tone done the racial part of her act. Its over the top and its simply not funny. Its old stereotypes expressed differently
I about did a literal gag at the comparison of Amy to Lena. Ugh. No. Just, no.
Why?
I don’t see the similarities between Girls and Schumer’s sketch comedy. They look different from eachother too. I think the press can only handle one assertive white woman at a time.
Amy’s standup is not all that, but her CC show is a riot. Re: the comparison between her and Lena, granted, I only watched a few episodes of Girls, but Amy’s stuff lacks the preciousness and narcissism of Girls.
And if there’s anyway of having Josh Charles as a regular, I wouldn’t be upset at all.
I disagree on the Lena assessment. Lena was never funny. Ever. Her show is awful. She was just pouty about everything…and still is. Girl doesn’t understand real life, because she grew up super privileged. I like Amy, and I’m really excited about her new movie.
“Men can look like whatever and still date a supermodel. ”
not men, a very tiny, super powerful and super wealthy minority of men can do that. i would say they also dont get love out of that. its a business transaction he gets the hots she gets the money. love? no! ugly men also realize that they wont be loved if they are not super succesful and by definition only a tiny fraction of people can be at the top. so i hope she pratices what she preaches in her personal life, too regarding the apppearance of her partners.
men are told that they are worthless if they are not the leader of the pack, if they show feelings (dont be a human!), if they are not the breadwinner, in an economy thats fragile and will sort them out in the near future as soon as automation really sets in and most physical labor jobs will cease to exist. look at the dating chances of unemployed men, are they unlovable too? thats at least what society tells them. Amy makes it sound like men live in this paradise and can look and act however they like and be with the best looking women in the world. that coudlnt be further from the truth. instead of focusing on the 1% she could look at the average guy. but just like feminism mostly targets the white upper class women she also only looks at the men at the top.
men have more and more body issues and thats also because women spent considerable amounts of time looking at perfect famous men and apply those pressures to the men in their lives, even if not directly the constant “i have a crush on that guy ” or simply seeing the wife or girlfriend spending a lot of time looing at topless pictures of super ripped guys or going to Magic Mike and fawning about it on social media are a big contributor to that. And dont tell me the constant images in the media dont have an effect on women as they do on men.
so instead of actually fighting body image issues lots women have mostly become as superfical and unforgiving as a lot of men.
how do i know this? by actually listening to men and not mocking them when they open up, not playing “BUT WOMEN HAVE IT WORSE!!!” #maletears and the like.
you know actually fighting together could help instead of this constant belittteling of men who are anyway never allowed to show a weakness or emotion. They’re also encouraged NOT to talk about it because it’s seen as unmanly to be insecure about your appearance.
Men definitely have issues but let’s be real, women in general are far less shallow than men when it comes to dating. If men have a little pudge, it’s not a big deal. For women, it is. If a man is funny and smart, often some will overlook the physical side. I don’t find this to be the case for men as much. Now, obviously there are exceptions to every case. However, in my view (late twenties) young men want the supermodel rather than the awesome personality of a chubby girl. Whereas women go for personality and if the man treats them well.
This. I see gorgeous ladies with meh-looking men quite often. The reverse is very rare.
THIS. Sadly, I woke up thinking about this issue this morning. I see TONS of very average looking men with gorgeous women all of the time. And it’s only getting worse. I may sound like the ultimate #manhater here, but I see more and more very average, OLDER dudes leaving their wives and kids for younger women. A lot, yes, A LOT of men walk around with Leo’s attitude, and I think it’s time that women got on board with Amy’s line of thinking. I would rather be single forever then settle for some @ass that’s going to leave me 20 years down the road for a teenager.
i hear this so often, is there actual proof of that?
what i know of is that female politicians are under more scrutiny, whereas the differences in income due to attractiveness was much more pronounced for men rather than women. or how small men are treated generally as dating suspects. its not like only men ignore the funny chubby women but women ignore the 5’6 guy. i also think online dating and tinder has made it worse, women and men on there are not any different in terms of that you have to reach body ideals of weight or height and facial attractiveness.
but this whole “women arent as shallow” is mostly anecdotal evidence. why are movies like Magic Mike susscesful? who has got more fans? Ryan Gosling or Phillip Seymour Hoffman?
in my experience and that obviosuly also only an anecdote is that its mostly insecure women who do not want a guy that gets a lot of female attention. its not that they dont lust after a hot guy and couldnt get him, its just that they are afraid he will leave so they take the safe option and then usually the sex dies down. same goes btw for a lot of lesbian couples. personality does not make anyone really hot in reality.
the other big thing is financial security. as women never had it before a mans looks were obviously not a huge factor. now that women are becoming more and more independent you can see they are adopting more and more of the “male” behaviour.
i find its also a huge disservice to womens agency and sexual desire. women are also VISUAL creatures. this whole “personality above looks” is BS for most people, its just that also most people will have to settle because they are not Angie or Brad.
i feel like its also time women on a whole are more vocal about caring a great deal about how a partner looks like and that yes a hot guy will get to come back home on the first night, an average guy wont. a hot guy will have it a lot easier in anyway, just like a hot woman has in the dating market.
its also a generational thing, older women were still more raised to care about different things while the younger generations is confronted with imgages of perfectly ripped guys on a daily basis, there have never been as much male objectification as nowadays and that influences us all. looks in a man are far more important than they have ever been. and why wouldnt they? women dont need men anymore for financial security, we are now open to look for the same things in a mate like men always did.
I’m grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and in my generation there were far more girls than boys. Once we grew up, the men definitely had the advantage of more options whereas we young women had limited options. If you weren’t really good-looking, chances are you didn’t end up with a good-looking guy. Alot of pretty women paired up with mediocre looking guys because that’s all there was. Sad, but true.
Now the tables have turned. My son is 11. There are far more boys in his grade than there are girls. It’s your turn now girls!
+100 I titally agree.
I think shes funny but she needs to stop with the racist jokes
Evolving or has better pr coaching now? Niether LD nor Amy are saying anything original. It’s the same old I’m not a size 2 look at me crap. I’m still not impressed with these so called women’s champions and never will be. It’s all social justice with crass jokes. Not original and not even funny.
Did you see the bit she did about Asian women who work at the waxing salons? I thought that was the opposite of racist! She was commenting about how these women were probably doctors or surgeons in their home countries and here they are in America, forced to wax entitled white women’s privates all day. She was presenting that as irony, how completely messed up the system is.
It is her jokes about Latinos that have raised eyebrows.
“I used to date Latino guys. Now I prefer consensual.”
“Gone Girl…the story of what one crazed white woman, or all Latinas, do if you cheat on them.”
“Nothing works 100% of the time, except Mexicans”
I’ve never heard of her outside of this site but those comments are really awful. I appreciate the context is a comedy routine but It’s hard to believe people are still coming out with this turgid bollocks in this day and age, it seems dated to me.
I am not referring to her comments about Latinos. My comment was only about what she said about Asians.
Another Amy fan over here!
Please. Lay off of her. She is hilarious AND courageous enough to take on her critics, not only in interviews but in her TV work. Her skits about women and society’s expectations of how successful/sexy/beautiful women should look are priceless. Google “Last f**kable Day” and “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup.” And then there is “12 Angry Men” – comedy genius.
Amazed at her balls, to use her own show to confront this idea that she’s not “hot” enough. Like she is not entitled to be on TV. Go online, read the comments trashing her appearance on sites like You Tube and you might better appreciate why she feels she needs to talk about her appearance and feminism so much. You’ll also get a new appreciation of how courageous she is to confront these attitudes head on. Wow. Plus, she is funny!
I second all of this as reasons I love her and her show. And people: it’s ok if you don’t love her! I mean, there’s many male comics who just aren’t my cup of tea and you don’t hear calls for them to be pulled off the networks. She’s the most prominent young female comic with her own show right now. That’s part of the reason why she’s this bellweather for women’s issues in comedy and she addresses them on her show with a lot of smartness and wit, IMHO.
I think she’s hilarious, although she goes too far for my comfort – but that’s what comedians DO. I have a hard time believing she got this far just on the backs of other writers.
please add the skit where she contrasts obtaining birth control to obtaining a gun to comedic genius list.
also the friday night lights spoof.
sofa king funny
Yay for the Amy Lovers!
I do not find her funny. Just my opinion. But she’s spot on when she says that women are trained to disappear. And men can look like whatever they want and still date a supermodel. (HI LEO!!) As for comparing her to Lena Dunham, I find that odious. Amy isn’t funny to me, but she doesn’t seem like a repulsive special snowflake like Dunham, either.
I agree, Dunham is deplorable.
There is something about her that I really don’t like. Maybe it’s her f-cking face?
Hahahahahahaha
Am I missing a joke?
Do women really think less of themselves with a little chub, not the perkiest breasts, and cellulite and stretch marks? I have all of that and find myself damn sexy and attractive and, let me tell you, many men would agree. It would honestly shock me if the majority of grown women feel this way. Yeah, maybe when you are fifteen and still developing a sense of yourself and maturing. However, once a woman becomes an adult, I would hope that they would have gained a strong sense of self esteem and confidence and wouldn’t fall victim to the collective brainwashing. Guess not. How sad.
Comparing the handful of woman comedians that exist and deciding which of them is funnier doesn’t seem like a very constructive experience.
I still don’t like her.
“The “she must have slept with someone to get that” rumor” I just saw that in action the other day, in a comment about an extremely talented, hardworking musician who also happens to be very pretty. It’s so gross and dismissive.
She reminds me of Alison Sweeney in these photos..
I am very sick and tired of this corny brand of feminism that is overly fixated on body image, being “f@ckable”, (but not in an offensive way) while throwing lip service here and there about equal pay.
Many women are dealing with access to health care, sexual violence, income inequality, racism, lgbt(q) issues, being over 40, educational advancement, and access to gain full and skilled employment. I need these “feminists” to get real or STFU with their insistent body shaming bullsh×t.
Because ultimately, I’m confused as to how the one thing you don’t want to judged on is the only thing you want to talk about?
This x1000. So over the it’s all about me feminism. It’s actually all about men and sex actually. Theres still no real smart comedy about this subjects as Amy’s recent statements about her racial jokes proves.
YASSS!
Let’s not forget child care and early education.
It’s like a group of privileged chicks with no economic, racial, sexual orientation or social issues took their manifestations and obsessions with being pretty and sexy enough for men and shoved it, with all their social, racial, sexual orientation and economic entitlements and privileges, under the banner of feminism and really are making a diluted mockery of what feminism is really about – justice and equality for women outside of patriarchal/male limitations and constructs. Because every women already knows regardless of what you look like, you’ll always be able to “catch a dick” and every FEMINIST knows “catching a dick” and being pretty has always been a limitation of a women’s worth and her ability to achieve real goals.
No apologizes, I feel VERY strongly about this watered down “feminist” foolishness.
thats a good point, InvaderTak, an extreme form is the Taylor Swift feminism that is entirely about protecting her brand from criticism.
Amy wants to be seen as desirable by men. of course we all want to be at least be desired by the people we desire but her whole thing is that men dont desire her as much as she wants it. she does not seem to think there is a lot wrong with generally putting so much stock into how good looking someone is. our whole society revolves around telling below average people that they are worth less and wont be loved. And get paid less, get higher prison sentences.
the whole concept of worshipping physically attractive people is sick, not only that there are certain body ideals.
The first and only time I ever saw Amy was on the Graham Norton show and she was hilarious. I might check out her show just because of that episode.
I’m tired of all the “stop shaming me because I don’t have a perfect body” too. Our physical bodies are no the begin and end all of our identity and I don’t buy the crap that women who are bigger were made to feel they didn’t deserve love. They’ve been made to feel insecure about their bodies and that there is a very narrow scope when it comes to a beautiful body, but that’s a far stretch from being told or made to feel you’re underserving of love. And if being out of shape and overweight being deemed another form of beauty is the goal, then why doesn’t she settle for an overweight out-of-shape man because that’s not the message I get from these women claiming they are so beautiful even though they need to lose weight and firm up. Okay, that’s all fine, but be sure you’re living and judging men by that same standard because that’s not what I’m seeing and hearing. I’m hearing that men get to be fat slobs but still have model-looking women. But in the next breath, I’m also hearing that the standard of beauty women are held to is unfair. We can’t have it both ways. I want to see one of these supposed feminists hook up with a fat dude and show him off proudly or STFU!
Oh yes us bigger gals have been told we don’t deserve love. Look at any newsstand, watch 90% of the music videos out there, watch 99% of the sex scenes in Hollywood movies. How many times do you see a bridal magazine with a plus size girl as the bride? Or commercials with happy couples on a date and (gasp) one of them is overweight? It goes the same for fat guys too, I’m not saying it doesn’t.
I think when “un-model” looking girls talk about getting “hot guys”, that they are just saying that they are attractive enough to get anyone. They are not saying that they don’t date guys their size.
You make an interesting point, but the news has been reporting that more and more women like what is know as a “Dad bod.” Apparently it is described as “a nice balance between a beer gut and working out.”
Here is link to one of several articles covering this topic: http://theodysseyonline.com/clemson/dad-bod/97484
its not “more and more” women. the media gives a false sense of a mainstream. it was one woman who started it and was mostly answered by guys with this body type, most of them realizing it wasnt really a trend and being self depricating about it.
its really not a real trend.
the page you link also proves its not about how it actually looks but two of the things are:
It doesn’t intimidate us and We like being the pretty one
so its way more about female insecurity than female desire. its more “I’ll take the ugly dude because im afraid the guy i am acutally attracted to will leave me” those relationships usually end with a dead bedroom.
tumblr, twitter and facebook are full with women posting about ripped guys, if they were all into dad bods we would see a lot of those pictures but we dont.
Well she looks DAYUM good on that cover!