The Manosphere of Comedy

Getting to work with so many comics in their beginning stages has a lot of perks and a lot pitfalls. The enthusiasm and early desire to succeed is contagious. Reminding comics of the basics and fundamentals reminds me as well. Teaching others often turns into reteaching one's self. On the flip side of the coin are the universal problems ranging from joke stealing to bad comedian imitation. Whether it's young male comics wanting to be the next Joe Rogan with aggressive premises, older comics wanting to imitate the old timey one liner comics they saw growing up, or young women confusing a five minute showcase set with a five minute soapbox about the issue of the day. Comedy is a platform to be passionate, but it can't just be rants about the woke, the patriarchy, and bad puns. Yet, if there is one group that comes off the most cringe, it's the manosphere group of men 20-55 who think doing their best "Austin comedy scene" bits are the fast track to success. Here's why male focused comedy might be an endgame, but it's not the starting point. 

What is the Manosphere Comedy Scene?
When you hear about the manosphere of comedy, this is referring to the Joe Rogan brand of comics who live off the frat boy persona. Tony Hinchcliffe's Kill Tony show is probably the training ground. Their brand of stand up appealing to mostly younger and middle age males, as they "take on the woke" and become the court jesters for right wing personalities like Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro types. While still very crass and blue, their act breaks down the arguments of the left, bypassing comedy clubs and filling out theaters and arenas. 

They take on contrarian points of view, making fun of transgender people, questioning Covid and the policies that sprung out of it, and finding flaws in opposite gender logic. Matt Rife's opening jokes in his Netflix special are a great example of this. His "cancelation" earned him a seat on Jordan Peterson's podcast. Meanwhile, Rogan has had many of these comics on his podcast, being the kingmaker of his era. What most of these comics have in common is being "canceled" by the mainstream media, without seeing their bank accounts suffer. Some were "canceled" for bad roast jokes, some for bad sexual related behavior, a few by guilt of association and others for just general statements made on podcasts.

But at the heart of their success is the "cancelation" surrounding them. It's why the term doesn't apply today like it did in 2017. Ironically, the fasted way to build a following is have a group of people call for your head on a stick. 

Why Do Men Love Them? 
Regardless of your own feelings toward the manosphere, they're popular and they make a fortune traveling the country. Some like Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura are scandal free but maintain the man-child persona other men wish they could emulate on the daily. Others like Rogan have platformed or been seen with right wing personalities with little pushback from their male base. And some have found themselves in scandals ranging from offensive ideas to actual sexual depravity.   

The problem is they all have been labeled "canceled" by some group or another, which today is the badge of honor they wear. As young males feel "canceled" by a western society that no longer sees a use for them, these comics are their superheroes. Goodbye action stars like Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. See you later playboys like Hugh Heffner. And forget sports stars like Michael Jordan. Young men today want to be like their favorite stand ups. And previous icons like Jerry Seinfeld won't cut it.

One reason is because these guys made it on their own terms. They didn't use TV or movies like Adam Sandler did. They just ranted about life from a podcast studio and told fart and dick jokes on stage. They literally said on stage what young men wish they could in their office space. To put it bluntly, the manosphere created the opposite of the safe space. A HR nightmare turned national tour.

Where the Problem Lies With the Manosphere and New Male Comics
Whenever we start our stand up career, we tend to accidently "do" an impression of our favorite comics. For me, I was doing a sort of John Pinette and Jim Gaffigan hybrid. A lot of young comics ten years ago were emulating Louis CK or George Carlin, throwing out hot takes left and right. Usually, young male comics are attracted to the aggressive style of comedy that inspired them to try this act of self torture. Whether its using controversial language, taking about taboo sexual fetishes, or just humping a stool, they take on the worst qualities of their favorites. 

But this new group of manosphere comics is different from previous generations. They aren't left leaning punchline machines like Louie CK or Dave Attell. This generation is mostly premise based comedy. Stand up is the veil used to hide their desire to simply be drunken frat boys on stage. They just want to complain about not being able to say what they want, when clearly they still say the "anti-woke" and "politically incorrect" ideas, but more so to applause and cheers. It's a form of hyper validation. 

What newbie comics don't understand is when they try similar things on stage, they aren't saying it to 2,000 fans. These newbie comics are saying unforgivable rape jokes or domestic violence jokes or racist words at open mics, bar shows, and bringer shows thinking they're auditioning for Kill Tony's roster. People are embracing the train wreck because Hinchcliffe said it's okay, and he's the flavor of the week. 

The Effect On Comedy 
While a lot of young male comics see this style of comedy as a fast track to viral success, they don't understand these comics have a fan base that they don't. People pay to come experience THOSE specifically platformed comics. The manosphere is being put on payrolls of other comics as openers, as well as putting each other on each other's podcasts, creating a community that supports themselves. Being like them doesn't mean acceptance. Moving to Austin doesn't mean you'll be accepted. 

This aggressive style also creates a lot of uncomfortable open mic situations. Professional adults dabbling in stand up or making a real run at it have found mics and shows to be quite hostile to them. Bad open micer comedy referring to women, LGBTQ+ members, and minorities by crude names and phrases evolves into comics separating themselves from the community faster than they'd like. As these young male comics spew their vile after paying to play, they only end up discouraging others from attending to watch or participate. 

Quick Advice For the Wannabe Manosphere Micers
If you find the manosphere brand enticing, just know that there will always be a place for real vulnerable comedy with your unique point of view. Watching comics go out of their way to be edgy or "anti-woke" has been cringy at best, disgusting at worst. Write great jokes first. Learn what audiences like about you before you try to burn the stage down. Being anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-feminism isn't going to take you anywhere beyond the open mic scene. Even if you do get a few showcase spots, you'll find strangers confused. 

You have a comedic mind. Use it. Talk about embarrassing situations you've been in. Don't look to put down others; look to elevate yourself by knocking your own ego down a peg. Once you establish that you are fair game, you'll be able to call out others through an established point of view.    

Final Thoughts
While stand up must have a free speech at its core, self regulation and the element of surprise is key to success. Yet, the manosphere open micers have neither self-regulation or any surprises left. It's the same "anti-woke" crusade every time. Even though it's working today for the establishment, the history of comedy says otherwise. Andrew Dice Clay, Pauley Shore, and Sam Kinison were selling out everywhere and then it just ended. People grow up. Men get married. People have children. If the comics don't grow with their fans, they'll die out. 

We see how earlier versions of the same male dominated fanbase adjusted as they got older. Had Eddie Murphy continued his male brand of 1980's stand up comedy, he would have changed, as proven by his string of family films in the 1990's. Steve Martin's silly college student stand up became much more philosophical once his film career developed. Even Adam Sandler's drunken Billy Madison characters grew up and he has been producing married man comedies and hard hitting dramas. That's how you create a 40 year career. 

​Another aspect many young comics don't realize is that the manosphere group started as typical joke writers and changed later. Go YouTube early Rogan and you really wouldn't see this coming. Rogan might always be the go-to-guy due to his podcast's popularity. But many of those trying to copy his swagger will find a brick wall at the end. He was a world champion fighter. These micers are calling out sick at their call center jobs. They are not the same.