Doing Their Part for Lady Parts

Comedians can talk about more than body image and their boyfriend’s body odor. And when they talk about something as serious as breast cancer, a combination of humor and strength lends them a grace more profound than any critical praise or commercial success.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and everyone from Pier 1 Imports to Yoplait is doing their part to fund research and screenings (the interior decor store has always stocked the trademark pink Susan G. Komen candles, and Yoplait continues its fundraising campaign, wherein customers mail lids from their yogurt containers to the company). The disease continues to claim lives of women everywhere each year, and the pressure to find a cure is heightened with each fatality. It’s comforting, then, when women of all colors and sizes step up to confront the gravity of the disease using humor. So, today, we’re bringing you the work of female stand-ups and sketch comedians – some warm, some self-deprecating, all funny, and all strong.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to do your part this October!

1. Wanda Sykes on Ellen

Longtime stand-up circuit fixture Wanda Sykes revealed, in a lively and wise conversation with Ellen DeGeneres last year, about her cancer diagnosis and bilateral mastectomy. Sykes urged women to be screened regularly, and for those women with a diagnosis to have an honest discussion with family members: “Tell them what’s going on so they know what to look for.”

2. Tig Notaro live at the Largo in Los Angeles

If you know Notaro at all, you know she’s been featured on ‘Conan,’ ‘The Sarah Silverman Program,’ and public radio’s ‘This American Life.’ What most people don’t know is that she contracted pneumonia, then an intestine-eating disease called Clotridium difficile, and lost twenty pounds as a result. A few days later she celebrated her birthday, her mother passed away in an accident, a long-term relationship with her partner ended, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. A few days after her double mastectomy, Notaro performed material about the recent tragedies in her life in a set that was immediately branded “legendary;” Louis C.K. Tweeted his praise, writing “In 27-years doing this, I’ve seen a handful of truly great, masterful stand-up sets. One was Tig Notaro last night at Largo.” (The entire set is available for purchase on C.K.’s website.)

3. SELF magazine

SELF Magazine organized a benefit that featured female comedians’ monologues about breast cancer. Alex Borstein, the voice of Lois on ‘Family Guy,’ sang about a painful mammogram, to the tune of the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Lumps”; Molly Shannon (‘Saturday Night Live’) and Susie Essman (‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’) recounted their fears about the disease and the potential impact of a dire diagnosis on their family and friends.

Do you have any Breast Cancer Awareness stories to share? How do you find humor in difficult times?

photo credit: bookgrl via photopin cc