Interview: Josie Long

Interview by RHIANNON MELLIAR-SMITH

Who was your feminist idol at university?

Gosh, i was a bit crap. I really didn't get a handle on much- most of the english course was by men, and with misogynist undertones that used to hurt me but i couldn't fully articulate or understand it at the time. Like every cliched student I did a special paper on Sylvia Plath. I loved her so much because i thought her work was exhilarating and wonderfully made. 

What book made you proud to be a woman?

So when i was 16 i read wuthering heights and the sheer energy and will of that book shone out to me. It felt so alive and animated, and i felt glad to have found her and proud that it wasn't a man who had written it. A bit later on i read some gloria steinem and felt like she was looking after me. OH and when i was at university i read a memoir called Reading Lolita in Tehran about an iranian university professor who literally risks her life to teach a challenging and forbidden literature syllabus to her female students.  

How do you feel about opportunities for women in comedy today?

On tv there should be more, at a commissioning level. Not enough women are given their own shows or the same level of recognition as their male counterparts. In terms of live stuff, the opportunities are there but sadly the comedy awards often don't reflect the sheer volume and level of talent that's out there.

Favourite Beyonce song? 

countdown. it's so full of fun and love. 

Favourite woman from history?

I love jean rhys. I love old lady stand ups like Phylis Diller. Or basically any woman who spied for the french resistance. 

Most inspiring woman in your personal life?

oh man so many, i feel so lucky to have a good group of female friends around me! I would say my sister though, as she's supported herself since the age of 16, is an incredible artist and creative person, also a very good hairdresser (which is underrated), also strong and funny as fuck, and such an amazing, inspiring parent to her daughter too.

What did you have on your wall at university? (posters, postcards etc)

i had pictures of billy childish where i then cut out little speech bubbles of him saying silly things. i had so much ramshackle stuff on my walls. At one point i sellotaped biscuits to the wall, i can't remember why. It was mostly stuff i had found in newspapers and magazines, though, and then i would alter them with drawings and slogans.

Your proudest feminist moment? 

Ha, recently i did a show where it was a mixed bill, i had a great gig and then after me an older male comic, who hadn't been watching the show, came onstage and did some material about how gross women's vaginas are. Really misogynist stuff, just awful. Anyway it died on its arse because the crowd had just seen a friendly woman comedian do well. This isn't a massive feminist moment, but it honestly made me so happy. Other than that, I'm not sure, I feel like a proud feminist when i'm making independent moves in my life, and making my own work, but also when i manage to book shows that have killer all female bills, or just collaborate or be around other female creatives.

Biggest feminist struggle at university…

there was a very blokey atmosphere in my college. I read Female Chauvinist Pigs the year after leaving university and it really shocked me to see in retrospect how much i had played along to try and get on with a group of men i had hung out with in my first year. It was hard to understand then that I could call out certain things i would call out straight away now. It took me a long time to realise that i was allowed to counter sexist views and actions around me!

… and how to counter it?

Even though I don't even want to go into how bad online abuse can be for women (and people of colour, and everyone who isn't a straight white cishet man!) , I do think that the internet has helped young women know that their experiences aren't in isolation, that certain ways of behaving, even speaking towards them are allowed to be called out and challenged and defeated- just helped them to find strength and a voice and I am so grateful for that. I think too that feminist networks at universities are stronger than ever, just that culture in this respect has shifted slightly for the better in the last 10-15 years and that makes me so happy. I know sadly not totally- fuck MRAs and fuck Alt-right cunts obvs. 

Least favourite generic quick-fire question for women (i.e. what's in your handbag…)?

oh it has to be "what's it like being a *woman* comedian? or even "why aren't there any women comedians" um, i'm right here dickhead.

One thing you want to do this year to empower yourself and other women?

I just want to collaborate with more women, my dream would be to make a tv show in the states with an all female writers room. 

Dream ALL GIRLS panel show line up?

Maria Bamford, Sarah Kendall, Isy Suttie, Sarah Pascoe, Maeve Higgins and Me.

How the hell are we going to get through the next 4 years? (Trump)

We will, and better than you think. We will be better informed, more politically active and more kind. He won't get us.