Amy Schumer already won us over with her irreverent, bawdy humor on Inside Amy Schumer. Last night, with her winking female-self-pleasure sketch on the MTV Movie Awards (which Schumer hosted), the comedienne gave us another reason to cheer. The clip wasn't just funny; it pushed the boundaries of how we reference female masturbation in pop culture — lifting, in some small measure, the stigma we still attach to women's solo sex lives.
In the sketch, Schumer, fellow comics Nikki Glaser and Rachel Feinstein, and model Amber Rose meet by chance at the movies, where each woman is treating herself to a ticket for one to either Fifty Shades of Grey or Magic Mike XXL. Their list of what else they're treating themselves to during the movies starts off innocent — an extra seat, bootleg dark chocolate — and quickly turns, well, masturbatory. "Also, I brought my Sonicare, and my shower head!" Glaser exclaims. "I went to Trader Joe's and got an assortment of gourds and squashes," Feinstein volunteers. Rose then walks in with a violently vibrating handbag.
When talents such as Schumer, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, and too many more to name direct their wit at supposedly taboo parts of women's lives — natural bodily activities and otherwise — the shame begins to crumble. What we make fun of becomes approachable and easier to discuss off-screen. Men have been making dick jokes for as long as there have been dicks and jokes, but sex, including sex with yourself, can be awkward and funny and weird no matter your gender identity. Pointing all of this out is an equal-opportunity endeavor. We give Schumer a hand for her willingness to go there — and for making us laugh while she's at it.
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