"For too long women have been barred -- largely through self-censorship -- from participating in the wild and wonderful world of ugly humor."

You need to get out more, Eleanor. Gilda Radner, Margaret Cho, Roseanne Barr--never heard of 'em, I guess.

I'm actually jumping the gun a bit and participating today.

I know we have had a few less-than-hot famous female comedians as the other writer points out above, but they are few and far between. I would love to see more of them out there.

I'm funny. Always have been. But my husband will never admit that I'm funnier than him. He's funny too, but I'm funnier. Really. I swear.

We're both feminists, so what's the deal here?

They were cracking people up with "ugly comedy" in the 1960's.

Imogene Coca, Moms Mabley, LaWanda Paige, and even Carol Burnett (who liked to dress ugly)... Also, am I the only who thinks that Ullman's blackface skits (the security guards) are off-target and borderline offensive? I like Ullman alot, but I cringe every time she tries to pull off that terrible Jamaican? Nuyorican? accent she attempts. It really leaves a bad taste in my mouth when she does that and I wish she would accept her limits as an impersonator...

I'm sure many men find a good sense of humor attractive, I know I do. I don't agree with part of the premise of the article - that Tracey Ullman is ugly, because she isn't, at least not in my eyes.

Nor is she the first woman to succeed at comedy without the crutch of a pretty face or attractive figure. Among others, Carol Burnett jumps to mind.

But I don't want to be a spoilsport - so yes, three cheers for Tracey! Let us hope she is starting a trend.

1.) Rodney Dangerfield

2.) Margaret Cho

3.) Gilbert Gottfried

4.) Carol Burnett

5.) Rachel Dratch

Did I miss anyone? (Other than Jessica Simpson, maybe? =)

Strangers with Candy.

in the tradition, as well.

For people who purport to enjoy comedy, you folks don't have much of a sense of humor. Johnson clearly has her tongue tickling her cheek on this one.

The second paragraph is the five-alarm clue, her faux outrage intended to segue you into a hilarious rap of faux-feminist polemic about a piece of faux journalism from a faux news network.

While she's serious about her theme (generally, that women ought to enjoy the same options as men), Johnson is applying a good deal of humor to her report. There's a definite tone of sarcasm and snark, prime components in even the cheapest irony.

Of course, it's hard to recognize intended irony these days, when there's so much free-floating irony in the air.

Amy Sedaris in Strangers with Candy is a nice example of dressing ugly for comedy.

She was a huge star, and for being funny, not because she was not terribly attractive (I hesitate to say ugly - certainly she was no less attractive for a woman than John Belushi and Dan Akroyd and Garrett Morris were for men). Phyllis Diller was pretty big in her day too, but maybe as much for being ugly and funny as just funny.

I'd say Sarah Silverman's whole career is 'ugly comedy' - she's not ugly, herself, but her act is mean to induce cringing, and she does nothing to play up her looks or sexiness.

Carol Burnett was not ugly. She frequently mugged for the camera in a way that grossly exaggerated her looks (the character Eunice comes to mind), but she wasn't ugly. Neither were Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. They were just ordinary looking people, not obsessed with how attractive and sexy they looked every minute.

Ms. Johnson,

I am glad you mentioned -just in passing- the issue of female self-censorship. It is women that continue to embrace their own bondage with their ravenous vanity and superficial materiality.

Ullman is an inspiration, not because she is ugly -which she isn't- but because she is not one-dimensional. She truly has a light inside of her that allows her to transcend the mundane priorities of modern women.

If I have to watch one more chick-flick/rom-com trailer that features a pretty-yet-ditzy heroine--either while trying to look cool and glamorous or while delivering some heartfelt rant--tripping and falling out of frame, arms flailing, I shall scream. Klutzy seems to be the shorthand (i.e. lazy) way of demonstrating that a female lead has comedic range.

Thanks for this. Amy Sedaris is another attractive lady who's a "goer" as they say- meaning, a comedian whose up for anything to get the laughs going. Her Jerri Blank character is fairly iconic at this point, in some circles. In any case, Seinfeld himself has stated it flatly, "People who think they're attractive just aren't funny."

Really enjoyed the Tracey Ullman show last night. All the vignettes were uncannily of the moment, hyper-topical, 2008. Had quite a few laughs. Love and blogs, dahlinks!

Praise to manos99 for the John Waters reference. Don't forget the egg lady.

Tracy Ullman starred in "A Dirty Shame" directed by John Waters and did a screamingly funny version of the Hokey-Pokey.

Mmm, trolls: the mark of any good feminist blog. A validation of sorts.

Anyway, I say dead on. I think what we are seeing is the usual hard-line gender normality that get expressed whenever the culture gets distilled down to something like CNN. We all had that chick friend in high school who wasn't afraid to be her ugliest on clash day or gross people out on halloween, and it was frickin' hilarious. So from that angle, we shouldn't be shocked by the antics of Tracey Ullman (or, indeed, Amy Sedaris). Somehow, though, when it gets processed though mass media culture, it's avant garde and kah-razy.

I feel like I'm missing out on what sounds like a great show. I agree with Johnson's point -- and would also like to point out how frustrating it is that ugly, stupid guy humor (Will Ferrell, if I have to see one more bus stop ad for Semi-Pro, I'm going to vomit on myself) is such a popular genre. But when a female comedian dares to *deliberately* be ugly, she makes headlines for it. (As did Roseanne.) Kudos to Ullman for putting her intelligence and wit out front and center -- and for challenging some of our unspoken notions of how men and women are allowed to be funny. Thanks for the heads up.