Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about comedians women throughout
Speaker 1: history who've made us laugh. They transgressed societal norms through
Speaker 1: comedy and often spoke out against injustice using their sharp wit.
Speaker 1: It's nineteen sixty two and we're at a drag ball
Speaker 1: in the Manhattan Hotel in New York City. The music
Speaker 1: is booming and people dance sweatily to the beat. But
Speaker 1: suddenly the music is turned off. The night is cut short.
Speaker 1: The cops are here to shut everything down. Partygoers and
Speaker 1: performers alike run to escape the premises, but amidst the
Speaker 1: drag queens as a young lesbian who can't quite get
Speaker 1: out in time. Sure Enough, the next day, the headline
Speaker 1: of the New York Post reads, cops grab forty four
Speaker 1: men and a real girl in slacks. This real girl
Speaker 1: in slacks would go on to change the world of comedy, relentlessly,
Speaker 1: fight for the rights of queer people, and much more.
Speaker 1: Please welcome Robin Tyler. Robin Tyler was born Arlene Chernick
Speaker 1: in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in nineteen forty two. From a
Speaker 1: young age, Robin wasn't afraid to speak her mind. In
Speaker 1: one story about a teenage Robin, she was standing in
Speaker 1: a busy street corner in Winnipeg holding a sign that
Speaker 1: proclaimed gay is Good. It's unclear if her neighbors really
Speaker 1: understood what the sign meant. Despite Robin's confidence, her family
Speaker 1: rejected her queerness, so in nineteen seventy two, she moved
Speaker 1: to Toronto and later to New York City in search
Speaker 1: of a more welcoming community. Robin began performing at nightclubs
Speaker 1: as a Judy Garland impersonator in stand up comic. During
Speaker 1: this time, she developed a thick skin against sexism and
Speaker 1: homophobic heckling. For example, one night, a drunk audience member yelled,
Speaker 1: are you a lesbian? Quick on her feet, Robin responded,
Speaker 1: are you the alternative? In nineteen seventy eight, Robin shut
Speaker 1: down any questioning around her sexuality by coming out on
Speaker 1: national television, reportedly a first in the US. Next year,
Speaker 1: she released her comedy album Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Groom,
Speaker 1: which was the first comedy album by an out lesbian. Well.
Speaker 1: I knew I was different when I was growing up,
Speaker 1: and I knew that whenever I was I was the
Speaker 1: only one in the whole world. In the nineteen seventies,
Speaker 1: Robin joined forces with another female comic named Patty Harrison
Speaker 1: to form a feminist comedy act known as Harrison and Tyler.
Speaker 1: They performed at colleges and small venues. That's how they
Speaker 1: met another womaniquin Maxine Feldman, and ended up producing the
Speaker 1: early lesbian anthem Angry. At this Robin and Patty were
Speaker 1: radicals for their time. They performed anti war material about Vietnam.
Speaker 1: They were dragged off the field of a Rams versus
Speaker 1: Raiders football game after protesting the lack of scholarship funding
Speaker 1: for female athletes. Robin once said, we were the first
Speaker 1: women to make women the subject and not the object
Speaker 1: of humor. For Robin, humor was the razors sharp edge
Speaker 1: of the truth. Her comedy always had political implications. She
Speaker 1: worked for almost three decades as an event organizer, speaking
Speaker 1: publicly at the first National March on Washington for Lesbian
Speaker 1: and gay rights. The march drew more than one hundred
Speaker 1: thousand demonstrators to DC to demand equality and civil rights.
Speaker 1: Robin also went on to produce comedy festivals, music festivals,
Speaker 1: all spaces for gay people, lesbians, women, and trans people
Speaker 1: to explore and enjoy their art. In two thousand and four,
Speaker 1: Robin and her partner sued LA County, challenging the ban
Speaker 1: on same sex marriage. In two thousand and eight, when
Speaker 1: the California Supreme Court finally found the ban unconstitutional, they
Speaker 1: became the first same sex couple to get legally married
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles County. In recent years, Robin has reprised
Speaker 1: her stage shows, and she continues to fight for women's
Speaker 1: rights in LGBTQ plus equality legacy lies in the intersection
Speaker 1: of her comedy and politics. All month, We're talking about comediends.
Speaker 1: For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
Speaker 1: and co creator. Tune in tomorrow for a special bonus
Speaker 1: episode brought to you by Nertek. Talk to you then,