In the contemporary media environment of infotainment and rapid digital information networks, political comedy has become a key source of political information for citizens, particularly in the United States (ANES, 2021). Previous research has shown that representations of political candidates that rely heavily on gendered stereotypes have cultivation effects on citizens’ perceptions about gender roles in politics. At the same time, feminist humor theory posits that humor that draws attention to unequal coverage or sexist stereotypes can have positive effects, making citizens more likely to accept a woman as a candidate for male-dominated roles such as the US presidency. This paper adds to the emerging research agenda on gender and representation in political comedy as a news source by exploring how feminist humor on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live contributes to the public discourse and perceptions of the US presidency from a gendered perspective. Results of the analysis, aided by insights from elite interviews and social media analysis, reveals in how far feminist humor is associated with feminist discourse and how comedian bias affects feminist humor framing. Overall, this study makes substantial contributions to current understandings of representation in political comedy as well as audience effects of this news source that is growing in importance. Potential implications for democratic representation and political behavior will be discussed.
