Exploring Sexism in Humour: A Linguistic Analysis of Comedic Performances on the Churchill Show

This paper examines the linguistic dimensions of sexism embedded within comedic performances on The Churchill Show, a popular Kenyan stand-up comedy program. Attention was paid to live performances broadcast on TV47. The paper seeks to uncover the subtle ways sexism is expressed through comedians’ utterances. Utilizing Norman Fairclough’s (2001) sociocultural framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the paper employs a descriptive research approach. Utterances from select stand-up comedy acts performed in November 2023 were gathered using purposive sampling. The collection process involved transcribing humorous statements from live performances and performing linguistic analysis to identify linguistic features that convey sexist humour. Content analysis is applied to utterances identified as sexist on the basis that they manifest or reflect unequal power structures, societal stereotypes, or gender-based discriminatory attitudes. The findings indicate that comedians employ various linguistic strategies to generate sexist humour, including juxtaposition, hyperbole, ambiguity, wordplay, pun, and irony. By highlighting the linguistic techniques that perpetuate sexism in comedic discourse, this paper enhances the understanding of the relationship between humour, language, and gender dynamics in the context of Kenyan stand-up comedy.