Carter, A. (2019) Essex girls’ in the comedy club : stand-up, ridicule and ‘value struggles’. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 22 (5-6). pp. 763-780. ISSN 1367-5494
Abstract
This article presents findings from a qualitative study carried out on how audiences of stand-up comedy are entangled in ‘value struggles’. It focuses on a group who through classed and gendered ridicule are often drawn as valueless – women from Essex or ‘Essex girls’. The article explores how a group of women from Essex negotiate their value in the face of Essex girl–based ridicule, experienced while part of a live comedy audience in a London comedy club. The analysis reveals an ambivalence in how the group utilise and view their ‘Essex girl’ status, which challenges the view that this is a valueless identification. They oscillate between the joy of revelling in the Essex girl role and disidentification from the shame of this disreputable status. It concludes by highlighting how ridicule does not necessarily perform a disciplinary function and considers if the joy of ‘being Essex’ has any hope of escaping into everyday life.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author 2019. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in European Journal of Cultural Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Affect; class; Essex girl; gender; laughter; ridicule; stand-up comedy; value; values |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jul 2019 12:01 |
Last Modified: | 13 May 2021 17:58 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1367549419861852 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:148352 |
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Filename: CARTER - Essex girls’ in the comedy club - AFC 2019-06-04.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0