Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women

by Judith Jacklin Belushi (Editor), Anne P. Beatts (Other Contributor)

A very interesting collection of articles by a great variety of female writers/comedians.

Genres: Humor, Essays

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Matt]

It's hard to understand how cool this book is without historical perspective. This was edgy humor written and presented by women at a time when NO women were doing edgy humor. Much of it probably feels safe today, but it's pretty remarkable given its time. These are the women who made the world safe for the likes of Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, and Boobs Radley. Thanks, ladies.

[notgettingenough · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present a picture of breasts plus erect nipples in a tight pink T-shirt:




And so this early collection of humour by women was sold.

I shake my head. I know, it's the usual argument, I guess. It is liberated to present women in ways that men get off on. It's just that the men aren't allowed to say they get off on it.

But if the front cover isn't your thing, I wouldn't go any further. The nipples are quite the best bit.

I'm sorry. I don't get it. Maybe if you read it in the early seventies? I didn't get to it until twenty years later.

[Danni Green]

Described as the first anthology of feminist women's humor (althought it actually wasn't; https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/revie...), this mixed-media collection includes essays, poetry, invented newspaper clippings, comics, and other representations. Reading it felt like I had dug around in an attic and found a dusty box of artifacts my grandma had saved. I hesitate to rate it because some of the content would be considered really offensive by today's standards, but it was doubtlessly revolutionary at the time and is valuable as a historical document and for the perspective it offers on where feminism was at that time, even if it's not as "funny" today as it would have been to, for instance, my grandma.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection very of its time and place -- and mostly really funny, if you have a good working knowledge of that time and place. The specificity is not just in terms of the cultural references (familiarity with '70s-era stuff like "The Whole Earth Catalog," "The Total Woman," "My Secret Garden" and "Rock Dreams" is useful before diving in), but also in terms of the attitude and type of humor. Most of the women who contributed were squarely in the "National Lampoon"/early SNL camp of nihilistic, vicious, too-cool downtown humor, so there are just as many barbs directed towards the counterculture and the mainstream feminist movement as there is bored, repressed suburban housewives. Of course, Erma Bombeck is in here, too, so it's a big tent.

Anyway, a lot in here is obviously dated, but most of it, read 40 years later, doesn't necessarily seem safe or tame. You couldn't get away with quite a bit of this stuff today.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Q. How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A. That's not funny!"
Maybe not, but this collection is, and not necessarily for women only. Sample: "I felt so lonely on Valentine's Day I sent my vibrator a postcard". If you want really raw cutting edge stuff, try the humor of future Saturday Night Live writers, including the late Anne Beatts, and actresses belting out such hits as "Nadia Comanec at the Olympic Games seen from a lesbian erotic angle". Beware. Although most of this anthology is tame by the standards of today you must have both a great sense of humor and strong stomach to digest some of the rest.