Abstract
This dissertation examines how several genres of American comedy represented issues relating to the women’s and gay liberation movements during the 1970s and 1980s. Television comedy writers, cartoonists, and stand-up performers responded to feminism, changing gender roles, and the new visibility of gay men in multiple, sometimes contradictory ways. Humor from sitcoms and magazines helped Americans make sense of the liberation movements and adjust to social transformation, by bringing previously taboo, private topics into public conversation and expanding the boundaries of acceptable subject matter in popular culture. Some comedic texts pushed progressive, feminist agendas by ridiculing bigotry and offering new models of manhood and womanhood, making the messaging of the liberation movements accessible to mass audiences. Other texts mocked “women’s libbers” and gay men, expressing anxiety over social change, a preoccupation with the boundaries of masculinity, and a desire to maintain existing hierarchies. Additionally, movement activists created their own humor in the underground press during this period, as a strategy to articulate goals, build community, and rewrite their histories. The socially relevant comedy of these decades sorted Americans into ideological camps or “sides” with respect to issues like homosexuality, sexual harassment, rape, and AIDS. In this way, humor from 1969-1989 helped set the stage for the culture wars of the 1990s and beyond.