Comedy, Inclusion and the Paradox of Playing with Stereotypes: Representations and Self-Representations of Muslim Women in British TV Sitcoms and Stand-Up Comedy

Abstract

In recent years, Muslim women have carved out spaces for themselves and become increasingly visible within the British comedy entertainment scene. This can be read in terms of popular cultural spaces becoming more inclusive and open to minority groups. At the same time, as this article will show, comedy representations can often be read in a range of different ways. Taking the stand-up comedy of Shazia Mirza and the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan (2012-2016) as examples, this article examines how comedy representations and self-representations of Muslim women both contest and reproduce stereotypes. This article also reflects on the risks and opportunities that arise from playing with the tensions and contradictions of stereotypes within the power-laden cultural space of comedy.

Keywords

• comedy
• stereotyping
• islam
• gender
• representation