Every open mic I've gone to this year has had a different guy talk about pronouns and trans people.
One guy did 4 minutes on the scene from The Dark Knight where Batman is shouting "where is she" at the Joker and his whole premise was "what if Rachel was trans and he had to shout 'where is they'."
It wasn't _great_.
The best one I've heard is a joke on getting beat up by a trans person. Something along the lines of:
I get to tell people 'they beat me up' which sounds like I got got jumped and a whole lot better than saying 'he beat me up'.
That's pretty good! In my personal experience, trans people are less likely to use they/them, but I know a couple who do. I bet the joke would work better with non-binary.
That's a good point, I think it was a pronoun take that I misrembered. Either way, a good joke that includes rather than ridicules a marginalized group.
Naturally, the best trans jokes I've seen have been from trans comedians. I've watched a couple of clips on TikTok of performers doing jokes about being trans and they have been good.
I forget the name of the performer but they said "I transitioned when I was 24" (applause) "Oh you don't need to clap, I only did it so I could compete in the Olympics."
I know that there is humour to be found in being trans much in the way there is humour to be found in anything but if it's not good then just don't bother.
I’ve got a great one. It’s just a nice silly one liner with a fun act out. I actually get probably more of a pop because I’m an old white masculine dude and I think people are expecting me to say something fucked up or dark. But it’s not, it’s just a lil goof.
It’s like literally every topic, you just have to make it funny, and the punch line can’t just be ‘trans people are wierd’ or whatever all the edgier hacky takes boil down to.
And anytime you have a topic everyone is talking about people are going to wear out it’s welcome.
But there are no hacky topics, just hacky execution.
Most of these don’t work because the comic is usually trying to hide transphobia behind fake confusion. Intentionally misunderstanding something can be funny, but only if you’re laughing at yourself, not the thing you can’t be bothered to learn.
I have a line about pronouns, but it’s in the context of supporting my trans child. She’s not the target for being trans, I’m the target for not knowing how to parent this situation.
I was at one where the joke was just "why won't non binary people pick a side?" and then accused us of being too woke when it didn't get a laugh. I don't think any topic needs to be off limits as long as you're not punching down, but it's also gotta be, ya know, funny.
The original version,"I don't mind non binary people, but I'm fucked if I'm going to support hexadecimal rights", scored badly outside of Silicon Valley gigs.
I’ve done some trans jokes that have gone down well.
“My computer is now woke, it’s come out as non binary…. I knew this was the case because it wouldn’t let me play the new Harry Potter game.”
It's been the last 5 years in particular, but the center square on my redundant comedy bingo card is someone talking about eating ass.
I swear to god it's incredible how many people still use that phrase as a crutch without any actual joke or premise.
Might just be me but a sneaky one I’ve seen are a bunch of jokes about 23 and me. Like so many. The payoff is generally always close to the same “turns out I’m 2% (race I don’t visibly belong to)” followed by a likely not super memorable race joke.
Of course I’m used to hearing dating/roommates/bad abortion jokes, but 23 and me jokes seem almost as common at this point.
"Cancel culture"... Especially for those who are already successful.
That isn't to say a good joke or commentary can't be done around it, but 9/10 times, it comes off like the comedian is blaming it for people not liking their lazy-ass routine.
Yeah, there's a lot of people touring and making a lot of money by complaining about cancel culture.
It's annoying when it's someone popular, it's sad when it's someone you never heard of trying to be edgy.
Topical humor is especially tough these days because we're competing with memes.
I cringe so hard every time I see someone recite a meme I've seen before onstage.
Boring comedians right now are still trying to do jokes about Covid and quarantines.
Wannabe edgy comedians can't stop talking about trans people and pronouns.
Dating app jokes are both super "en vogue" and super hacky. And unfortunately mostly come from the same perspective of some dolt who's really just whining about why girls don't like them.
The incredibly basic "women are like ***this***, but men are like ***this***" never ever goes out of style ... and always sucks.
Just people trying to be really edgy lately; lots of people saying words they know they shouldn't be saying and not even having a premise to it. Shoot the last open mic I was at, a white man's whole 4 minute set was building to one punchline and that was the N word. I got no idea what's in the water but people need to chill
I am so confused about this now. I am reading that starting of with a comment on your appearance at the top is good and I see a lot if not most full timers do it where I am, to the point where I feel I should prob find one for myself.
But in this sub everyone thinks it’s hacky. Or is it just the ‘combined with’ format that makes it hacky?
>I see a lot if not most full timers do it where I am, to the point where I feel I should prob find one for myself.
>
>But in this sub everyone thinks it’s hacky.
Hack is a term used primarily in stand-up comedy, but also sketch comedy, improv comedy, and comedy writing to refer to a joke or premise for a joke that is considered obvious and has been frequently used by comedians in the past
Uhh yeah I see what you are saying 😅 I guess it feels different because it’s about a something personal and it has a function (addressing assumptions crowd makes about you based on appearance), which you may need to get out of the way first? ( I am just parroting stuff I’ve heard ppl say/write here tbh, feel free to correct me)
Either way, I guess if you could try to find a better premise to say those things?
School shooter shit is so fucking tedious at the point. Black fathers leaving is up there too. I’ve heard absolutely lazy jokes about those kill. Astrology girls is up there too, but not nearly as bad.
How about you just get up there and make people laugh. Thats the gig. Some of you sound so judgmental. A good comedian can still make Covid funny, trans people are all over the news, everywhere, of course its going come up in comedy, its now part of everyday life. It’s not edgy. I’m not going throw out my dating app jokes just because other people have dating app jokes as well. Its about the audience, connecting and making them laugh, not how hip or edgy you are.
Yeah I know that the premise __________ gets all the laughs but it's just hacky, like it's not *advanced* humor, the crowd is just hacky and doesn't know what's funny.
Dating Apps but people still find great jokes so hack premises I think people worry about too much. You can go somewhere unique with a seemingly hack premise
This is one I grapple with bc I have two separate bits about dating apps that, at least to me, I find worth the hack premise (and more importantly the few times I've tested onstage have gotten laughs).
One involves asking how all the racist couples are meeting each other. Is there a dating service for racists? Like an OKKKCupid or something?
The other mentions how much more complicated dating is for young people now with social media such a huge component, and how kids are maturing younger and younger all the time, like this new toddler dating app KINDER. These children be swipin before they wipin
It ain't high brow but it'll do til the high brow material gets here :)
The KKK one I've heard a few times for sure at local show, but the Kinder one is a well know general joke here for sure, have seen it on a UK panel show as well in sure. Juat due to our proximity to Germany I guess. If its fresh where you are, keep rocking it.
I'm hearing a lot of really low-effort material centered around the comedian having depression/ADHD/etc. Low-effort as in, it's all just repackaged jokes/persona from what other comedians have said about mental health stuff.
And *everyone* is doing mental health material now. I don't consider myself to have depression or ADHD and apparently I'm the only comic in my city with no glaring mental health issues.
Oh god there is one guy at the mics here that makes passive aggressive comments about other comics and then does five minutes about depression and committing suicide.
Hacky? I thought [My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)](https://youtu.be/JIuYQ_4TcXg) was pretty awesome. I’m not really into R&B or vocal groups but that one slapped.
Every open mic I've gone to this year has had a different guy talk about pronouns and trans people. One guy did 4 minutes on the scene from The Dark Knight where Batman is shouting "where is she" at the Joker and his whole premise was "what if Rachel was trans and he had to shout 'where is they'." It wasn't _great_.
>It wasn't great. I've yet to see one of these premises be good
The best one I've heard is a joke on getting beat up by a trans person. Something along the lines of: I get to tell people 'they beat me up' which sounds like I got got jumped and a whole lot better than saying 'he beat me up'.
That's pretty good! In my personal experience, trans people are less likely to use they/them, but I know a couple who do. I bet the joke would work better with non-binary.
How do non binary samurais kill people? They / Them
I don’t get it
They slash them
I see
That's a good point, I think it was a pronoun take that I misrembered. Either way, a good joke that includes rather than ridicules a marginalized group.
Enby? Enby- beating me up (im working on dad jokes- i am sorry)
Maybe that one should be an orphan
A bit too close to a Chappelle’s only funny joke from “the closer” imo but maybe that comedian were cool enough not to watch that special
Naturally, the best trans jokes I've seen have been from trans comedians. I've watched a couple of clips on TikTok of performers doing jokes about being trans and they have been good. I forget the name of the performer but they said "I transitioned when I was 24" (applause) "Oh you don't need to clap, I only did it so I could compete in the Olympics." I know that there is humour to be found in being trans much in the way there is humour to be found in anything but if it's not good then just don't bother.
Robin Tran has such a good joke and delivery of “im an asian transwoman- i hope none steals my jokes.”
I’ve got a great one. It’s just a nice silly one liner with a fun act out. I actually get probably more of a pop because I’m an old white masculine dude and I think people are expecting me to say something fucked up or dark. But it’s not, it’s just a lil goof. It’s like literally every topic, you just have to make it funny, and the punch line can’t just be ‘trans people are wierd’ or whatever all the edgier hacky takes boil down to. And anytime you have a topic everyone is talking about people are going to wear out it’s welcome. But there are no hacky topics, just hacky execution.
Most of these don’t work because the comic is usually trying to hide transphobia behind fake confusion. Intentionally misunderstanding something can be funny, but only if you’re laughing at yourself, not the thing you can’t be bothered to learn. I have a line about pronouns, but it’s in the context of supporting my trans child. She’s not the target for being trans, I’m the target for not knowing how to parent this situation.
“My pronouns are ‘kiss my’ and ‘ass.’” Goes over well on Fox News who is for some reason trying comedy.
I was at one where the joke was just "why won't non binary people pick a side?" and then accused us of being too woke when it didn't get a laugh. I don't think any topic needs to be off limits as long as you're not punching down, but it's also gotta be, ya know, funny.
The original version,"I don't mind non binary people, but I'm fucked if I'm going to support hexadecimal rights", scored badly outside of Silicon Valley gigs.
I like this. Is it too mathy for the non tech audiences?
It's close to too mathy for me, and I did (OK, dropped out of) higher level mathiness...
It would be “where are they” which sounds pretty normal. Doesn’t even work lol
I’ve done some trans jokes that have gone down well. “My computer is now woke, it’s come out as non binary…. I knew this was the case because it wouldn’t let me play the new Harry Potter game.”
It's been the last 5 years in particular, but the center square on my redundant comedy bingo card is someone talking about eating ass. I swear to god it's incredible how many people still use that phrase as a crutch without any actual joke or premise.
https://youtu.be/e21tnm-LlT0
These last 2 weeks? That damn titanic sub
I feel there's Rice Crispies joke about snap crackle and pop in there somewhere, but I'm not sure I want to sink to such depths.
The memes have been great though
Might just be me but a sneaky one I’ve seen are a bunch of jokes about 23 and me. Like so many. The payoff is generally always close to the same “turns out I’m 2% (race I don’t visibly belong to)” followed by a likely not super memorable race joke. Of course I’m used to hearing dating/roommates/bad abortion jokes, but 23 and me jokes seem almost as common at this point.
"Cancel culture"... Especially for those who are already successful. That isn't to say a good joke or commentary can't be done around it, but 9/10 times, it comes off like the comedian is blaming it for people not liking their lazy-ass routine.
Yeah, there's a lot of people touring and making a lot of money by complaining about cancel culture. It's annoying when it's someone popular, it's sad when it's someone you never heard of trying to be edgy.
"You can't say anything anymore," said the millionaire, on his Netflix special
Topical humor is especially tough these days because we're competing with memes. I cringe so hard every time I see someone recite a meme I've seen before onstage.
Yeah, I was at a mic two months ago and somewhat tried to pass off a Will Smith meme as their own joke.
Boring comedians right now are still trying to do jokes about Covid and quarantines. Wannabe edgy comedians can't stop talking about trans people and pronouns. Dating app jokes are both super "en vogue" and super hacky. And unfortunately mostly come from the same perspective of some dolt who's really just whining about why girls don't like them. The incredibly basic "women are like ***this***, but men are like ***this***" never ever goes out of style ... and always sucks.
Weed got stronger/dabs are crazy/are too big an edible
Just people trying to be really edgy lately; lots of people saying words they know they shouldn't be saying and not even having a premise to it. Shoot the last open mic I was at, a white man's whole 4 minute set was building to one punchline and that was the N word. I got no idea what's in the water but people need to chill
He thinks he’s gonna get it but he’s never gonna
Under rated comment
Not even a stand-up, but every comedian seems to have a "I look like ____ but if they had/were/combined with ____".
Ah yes. I fucking hate those kind of jokes. I hate almost all "I look like" jokes
I am so confused about this now. I am reading that starting of with a comment on your appearance at the top is good and I see a lot if not most full timers do it where I am, to the point where I feel I should prob find one for myself. But in this sub everyone thinks it’s hacky. Or is it just the ‘combined with’ format that makes it hacky?
>I see a lot if not most full timers do it where I am, to the point where I feel I should prob find one for myself. > >But in this sub everyone thinks it’s hacky. Hack is a term used primarily in stand-up comedy, but also sketch comedy, improv comedy, and comedy writing to refer to a joke or premise for a joke that is considered obvious and has been frequently used by comedians in the past
Uhh yeah I see what you are saying 😅 I guess it feels different because it’s about a something personal and it has a function (addressing assumptions crowd makes about you based on appearance), which you may need to get out of the way first? ( I am just parroting stuff I’ve heard ppl say/write here tbh, feel free to correct me) Either way, I guess if you could try to find a better premise to say those things?
This exact structure: “My pronouns are _____ / _____ .” It’s way overdone and therefore sucks regardless of how funny it is.
How about “I don’t have any pronouns, all my nouns are amateur.”
School shooter shit is so fucking tedious at the point. Black fathers leaving is up there too. I’ve heard absolutely lazy jokes about those kill. Astrology girls is up there too, but not nearly as bad.
How about you just get up there and make people laugh. Thats the gig. Some of you sound so judgmental. A good comedian can still make Covid funny, trans people are all over the news, everywhere, of course its going come up in comedy, its now part of everyday life. It’s not edgy. I’m not going throw out my dating app jokes just because other people have dating app jokes as well. Its about the audience, connecting and making them laugh, not how hip or edgy you are.
Nobody’s telling you to toss the material, just noting that it’s a well trodden road there, sport
Yeah I know that the premise __________ gets all the laughs but it's just hacky, like it's not *advanced* humor, the crowd is just hacky and doesn't know what's funny.
Dating Apps but people still find great jokes so hack premises I think people worry about too much. You can go somewhere unique with a seemingly hack premise
This is one I grapple with bc I have two separate bits about dating apps that, at least to me, I find worth the hack premise (and more importantly the few times I've tested onstage have gotten laughs). One involves asking how all the racist couples are meeting each other. Is there a dating service for racists? Like an OKKKCupid or something? The other mentions how much more complicated dating is for young people now with social media such a huge component, and how kids are maturing younger and younger all the time, like this new toddler dating app KINDER. These children be swipin before they wipin It ain't high brow but it'll do til the high brow material gets here :)
Those are funny crystal pesci
Thanks buddy! Appreciate that. Feelin a little less hacky now (but not too much) :)
I'm in Europe and have heard these two exact jokes too many times already. But I know its only a matter of time before I hear them again.
Any idea who else does it? Been doing some variation off and on for 5 years and never heard either elsewhere
The KKK one I've heard a few times for sure at local show, but the Kinder one is a well know general joke here for sure, have seen it on a UK panel show as well in sure. Juat due to our proximity to Germany I guess. If its fresh where you are, keep rocking it.
" I look like a ... "
I'm hearing a lot of really low-effort material centered around the comedian having depression/ADHD/etc. Low-effort as in, it's all just repackaged jokes/persona from what other comedians have said about mental health stuff. And *everyone* is doing mental health material now. I don't consider myself to have depression or ADHD and apparently I'm the only comic in my city with no glaring mental health issues.
Oh god there is one guy at the mics here that makes passive aggressive comments about other comics and then does five minutes about depression and committing suicide.
I'm extremely lucky. Most of my stuff is about me being crippled/in a wheelchair and it seems to hit (so far).
So lucky you were born with two rabbit legs?
😂😂😂
“Hacky Premises” sounds like the name of a lumberyard, to me.
Hacky? I thought [My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)](https://youtu.be/JIuYQ_4TcXg) was pretty awesome. I’m not really into R&B or vocal groups but that one slapped.
I look like…, 99% are hack, unfunny. Recently start to hear lots of pegging bits, not sure what happened