Linguistic analysis of the conceptualization of stereotypes in subversive humorous monologue

Abstract

This study shows a linguistic analysis of the discursive genre of stand-up comedy and, in particular, of the comedians’ ability of conceptualizing certain stereotypes, whether consciously or not. In this sense, we start from the hypothesis that female comedians use subversive humour to break with certain stereotypes and prejudices that have been imposed by the patriarchal society. In order to verify this assumption, this research work examines the conceptualization of stereotypes in a corpus that collects 15 stand-up routines, which have been divided into 504 humorous sequences, and that were performed by 15 female stand-up comedians. Findings show that the conceptualization of these stereotypes could happen both to challenge them and to break with certain normative ideas, as to reinforce them, and hence, perpetuate the status quo.