#OppressionSuccessful? Women In Comedy!

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A common perception is that the funniness of a person is inversely related to the hardships they’ve faced in their life.

Comedy being the art form that gets judged by every word and action, women of comedy go through everything in that aspect of things and then some.

“Why does she talk about periods only?” or “arey, another lady talking about sex!” While in the same setup, a man would talk about pretty much the same things and get better responses from the audience and comedians. It’s baffling to see the bias in the perception of the people in pretty much all social systems of India,comedy being a trend dawning in the new age pop culture.

Women in comedy have forever been at the judgemental yardstick in the business, often being ridiculed for their personal experiences or simply believed to be inherently not funny. Every woman in comedy had a story of people from the audience and show producers telling them things like “you’re really funny for a woman”. If you look at it through history, and how people resort to being funny or think of funny things to say, it comes from survival instinct as a defense mechanism to avoid danger or conflict. So is it safe to assume that the art of “being” funny comes from some kind of hardships faced in the past? Many comedians would have a story of them going through a rough divorce or how they’d gone through an episode of heavy trauma.

Examples of comedians with a dark upbringing:-

Richard Pryor was raised in a brothel with abuse being a regular ordeal in his life.

Jim Carrey’s family was homeless when he was in his teens.

Stephen Fry went to prison in his teens and has attempted suicide before.

Ms.Pat being shot whilst dealing drugs and raising her kids in her early teens.

The African American community has gone through a lot in history, with slavery and systemic racial abuse in the modern world be it by the police or at the workplace. So it’s only safe to assume that the ones who survived were funny as people who had a way with words and personality to come this far.

This brings me to comedians in India, where we see a revolution in female funny voices in the country, from Prashasti Singh to Sumukhi Suresh to Sumaira Shaikh. These women have come far as comedians in a country that’s had a problem with the treatment of women.

It’s only natural that the situation of our country where women see through the roughest of times, slowly have been giving birth to the funniest women around. We will see the funniest women come out of India because of the same past oppression, somewhat like an aftertaste of the pains faced.

Therefore, let’s just say it’d be too 2020 to think that women are not funny. Comedy springs from experiences and our women have had the most of it. Their experiences have been systematically dismissed for a very long time through the pages of history. It’s now that we listen closely to their stories through various forms of artistic communications, comedy being one!

Highlights

A pregnancy belly will probably start to show around 20 weeks but may show sooner or later, and that’s okay.

Every pregnant woman always feels like they look bigger or smaller than their friend, sister, or neighbor.

What’s normal for one might not be normal for another woman as there are some factors that may determine that.

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We see how some pregnant women have bigger baby bumps and some other women have smaller baby bumps which don’t show that obviously unless they are in their last trimester. In this Pregnancy Care Blog by Infano, let us see what can influence the size of the belly of pregnant women.

A pregnancy belly will probably start to show around 20 weeks but may show sooner or later, and that’s okay. Every pregnant woman always feels like they look bigger or smaller than their friend, sister, or neighbor. What’s normal for one might not be normal for another woman. If you happen to be pregnant for the first time, for example, it may take a while longer to show.

For first-time pregnant women, it may take longer for the uterus to move up and out of the pelvis. In the next pregnancies, the abdominal wall becomes looser, which means that pregnant women will show a baby bump sooner. However, try your best to resist comparing yourself to other pregnant women.

The height and fitness of expectant mothers

According to a pediatrician, the taller the mother the smaller is the baby bump, and vice-versa. If the mother is tall, there is more space available between the lowest rib and hip in the uterus to push upwards. In the case of women with a short height, the uterus starts pushing outwards instead of upward because of the cramped space which makes the baby bump bigger. Some others are of the opinion that a woman’s level of fitness and general abdominal strength may also play a role in the shape of her belly but her body size does not influence the size of her bump.

Position of the baby in the womb

The position inside the womb determines the size of the bump to a large extent. The baby changes its position frequently during the last trimester, which can affect the bump size significantly. For example, when a baby moves from one side to another the bump will enlarge accordingly.

Possibility of multiple pregnancies

The size of a pregnant stomach can be different in the case of multiple pregnancies. While mothers with twins or triplets have a larger bump, mothers carrying a single baby might have a smaller one. This is because pregnant muscle needs to stretch more in order to house the multiple fetuses inside the womb.

Amount of amniotic fluid

Pregnant women who have been carrying excess amounts of amniotic fluid may develop a large baby bump during pregnancy. Where postpartum should be put on a continuum that includes medical reasons and cultural and religious beliefs

Genetics, size of baby

Genetics is also responsible for the size of the mother and baby and this may be carried down in the family. Also, if the baby’s size is big the bump will be big. Some babies are chubbier or bigger than the average size and weight and mothers carrying bigger babies will naturally have a bigger-sized bump.

Medical reasons

Also, there are medical reasons which determine the size of the belly, eg., if a mother has a medical condition like gestational diabetes her belly might appear bigger. A condition called diastasis recti may make the size of a woman’s bump seem bigger. Diastasis recti happen when the left and right sides of the rectus abdomens muscles separate. This creates more space in your belly and the uterus typically pushes out more, making the bump appear bigger.

Better body posture

An upright body posture creates the illusion of a smaller stomach. Conversely, short and drooping postures lead to the perception of having bigger baby bumps.

Resisting the pressure to compare yourself, there’s no universal definition of what a “normal” pregnancy looks like. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to what you should expect during your pregnancy. So, what does that mean? Once again, resist comparison and focus on the unique experience that is your body!

Also read: Pregnancy Care blog and women’s health blog on Infano.