Lea DeLaria: How Butch Lesbians Have Demanded Queer Visibility in Comedy

Authors

  • Brittany Bell

Keywords:

Reclamation, Butch representation, Radical comedy, Visibility, Queering

Abstract

Lea DeLaria was a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ comedians in the 80s and 90s, and made history as the first openly gay comic to appear on an American talk-show in 1993. At a time when many other queer comedians opted not to mention their sexuality to the public in order to fit into the mainstream, DeLaria wasn’t afraid to get on stage in a suit and proudly call herself a dyke. Her comedy style is loudly queer and absolutely unapologetic, often being labelled as radical. As I learned more about Lea DeLaria, I gained a great appreciation for the honesty in her work, and see her comedy as a form of lesbian empowerment.

Author Biography

Brittany Bell

(she/her)

Hello, my name is Brittany Bell. I am a third year Bachelor of Science student at UBCO majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology. I identify as a lesbian and am passionate about LGBTQ+ advocacy and representation. My research interests include women’s and queer sexuality studies, nontraditional family structures, and abnormal psychology. I am currently a support worker for adults with developmental disabilities, and I hope to pursue a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and one day become a therapist.

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Published

2024-03-19

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2024): Pleasure

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Brittany Bell

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.