Emerson Pieper, staff writer

Comedy has always been a place where people can challenge societal norms, push boundaries and make audiences uncomfortable. Yet, there is a huge difference between challenging an audience and relying on outdated stereotypes for a laugh. Shane Gillis’s latest “Saturday Night Live” monologue painfully shows that difference, using jokes about women in public spaces, their clothing and even his own family.

One of the most concerning moments was when Gillis describes a situation where he encountered a beautiful woman while hiking alone. He jokes that he has “30-40 seconds” and suggests that both he and the woman are thinking the same thing. He then describes the need to make a face to reassure her that he is not there to hurt her. To me, the joke relies on the idea that a woman alone in the wilderness should naturally fear a man approaching her, turning a legitimate concern about real personal safety into a horrible punchline.

The monologue takes a similar approach when Gillis discusses a time he visited a gym and discovered that women now dress in ways he considers inappropriate. He refers to their workout clothes as attention-seeking and claims that women now dress like “whores,” framing their clothing as something that is purposefully provocative. 

I don’t see the same accusations happening when men wear spandex, so what’s the difference when women wear the same exact thing? Is it inappropriate simply because they’re women and society has decided that women’s bodies are inherently sexual? Women go to the gym to exercise, just as men do, yet they are shamed for supposedly seeking attention. The contradiction is impossible to ignore: women are mocked for what they wear but are also expected not to attract attention while wearing it.

Gillis even jokes about having to constantly remind himself not to look at women in the gym because they might be filming. His concern seems less about respecting their privacy and more about avoiding being recorded and subsequently ridiculed online. The joke makes the situation about the embarrassment men might face rather than the respect women deserve. Even when he acknowledges the possibility that he might be caught staring inappropriately, the punchline circles back to his own inconvenience. 

I think that the most telling moment is when Gillis refers to his two older sisters as his “big, fat, bitch sisters.” I have many siblings and we insult each other on the daily, and a comedian joking about his own family is definitely not uncommon. Still, I find the choice of insults extremely telling. Why are their bodies and their worth as women part of the joke at all? Honestly, it felt like their appearance was his joke, which is absolutely disgusting. 

What makes this especially frustrating is how often women’s appearances become an easy target for comedy, as though their bodies are public property open to criticism. There is a difference between laughing with someone and making their appearance the reason an audience laughs at them. To me, this distinction really matters, especially when the punchline depends on insulting qualities women are so often judged for in everyday life.

Gillis’s monologue has me questioning what makes these jokes funny beyond their shock value. Comedy can be provocative in so many ways that do not include reducing women to their bodies, their clothing or their perceived sexual availability. When the same stereotypes appear in every single joke about women, it becomes difficult to argue that the humor is challenging the societal norm about women. Sometimes, the joke says less about the women being mocked and more about the person telling it.