Trauma, postfeminist humor and healing

Abstract Humor plays a crucial role in our lives, sometimes offering a valuable means for individuals to navigate and cope with traumatic experiences. While not intended to diminish the gravity of trauma, humor provides survivors with tools to process and manage such experiences constructively. This aligns with the concept of humor as a benign force, capable of eliciting positive emotions and fostering social connections. However, dark humor and irony can also serve as mechanisms to confront life’s traumatic events, such as illness and loss. Within this framework, this study explores how humor operates in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag (2019a [2013]). Fleabag: The special edition . London: Nick Hern Books). Fleabag epitomizes the modern woman, no longer confined to being an object of desire but an active agent with perspectives and truths deserving to be heard. The protagonist exemplifies postfeminist humor, which serves as a means to critique societal norms, particularly those tied to expectations of femininity. She also uses it as a coping strategy to address the pain and guilt stemming from the loss of her mother and best friend. A linguistic analysis highlights Waller-Bridge’s brilliance in crafting a complex and, at times, unlikable character who consistently defies audience expectations while maintaining their empathy for her journey.