Making fun of feminism: British television comedy and the second wave

This paper addresses the representation of second wave feminism in two mainstream comedy shows starring male comedians. Scott On … (BBC 1964–74) and a sketch narrative which featured in the 1980 season of The Two Ronnies (BBC 1971–1986) brought feminism into family living rooms. While these shows make fun of feminism they also represent key aspects of the second wave, often echoing debates taking place in the women’s liberation movement. Despite their conservative politics Scott On … and The Two Ronnies put feminist ideas on screen in the 1970s and early 1980s; they represent a mainstream resistance and response to the second wave activism which was changing the British social and political landscape. Such shows make fun of feminist politics, yet in doing so they register and refract feminist debates.