Caught in the Crosshairs

Amber Day is Professor of Media and Performance Studies and Chair of the History, Literature, and the Arts Department at Bryant University. She is author of Satire and Dissent: Interventions in Contemporary Political Debate (IUP, 2011) and editor of DIY Utopia: Cultural Imagination and the Remaking of the Possible.

• Acknowledgments1. Ambivalence: Feminist Comedy Past and Present2. Ridicule: Leslie Jones and the Growing Visibility of the Alt-Right3. Loathing: Amy Schumer and White Feminism4. Revulsion: Samantha Bee, Michelle Wolf, and Twin Comedic Controversies5. Hope: Hannah Gadsby and the Expansion of Comedy's Borders6. Conclusion: Female Comedians and the Cultural ImaginaryNotesWorks CitedIndex

"In this most necessary book, Amber Day demolishes the myth that women can't be funny. But more importantly, she helps us understand why too many people struggle to make sense of funny women, and why the debate around female comedy matters so much in our complicated cultural times." - Geoffrey Baym, author of From Cronkite to Colbert: The Evolution of Broadcast News"Day dives into the heart of contemporary cultural ruptures with clarity and nuance, demonstrating how women's stand-up comedy serves as a lightning rod for broader public debates, influencing collective values, shaping identities, and navigating ethical boundaries in public life. Essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and comedy fans alike, this book deepens our understanding of humor's political and affective complexities and capacities and convincingly argues that comedy - especially when women are the provocateurs - can provoke, persuade, and sometimes perilously divide." - Beck Krefting, author of All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents