The 2UE "comedy" sketch which left me cold.

I like to think I have a pretty broad sense of humour. I laughed out loud at The Hangover. I think the Chaser boys had moments of comedic brilliance. And Chris Lilley? Well he’s a genius in my books. Then there’s the fact that I have written comedies myself. I understand the need to push boundaries. I get that humour is often found in life’s most excruciating or awkward moments. Comedy is also a powerful tool to safely mirror our own screwed up attitudes.

And yet. Last week I heard a comedy sketch that left me cold. Did I say cold? I meant repulsed.

On his Afternoons show on 2UE, host Michael Smith ran a sketch ridiculing Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.  From the outset, I have no problem with that. It’s Smith’s show after all, he can lambast whomever he wants. What I did have a problem with was the joke itself. Smith’s sketch was said to be “surveillance” taken from the Greens’ Headquarters and involved Senator Hanson-Young having an orgasm over (amongst other things) the carbon tax.

You can listen to the audio here.

In my opinion the sketch is vile, unquestionably sexist and just plain unfunny. It was clearly designed to undermine Hanson-Young’s credibility rather than make any type of clever observation about her or the Greens.  To make matters worse Smith’s lascivious description of Hanson-Young’s physical appearance as “small but perfectly formed” felt creepy. Like something your drunk, lecherous Uncle Wade would say about a bridesmaid at a wedding.

I don’t know much about Michael Smith. I don’t listen to his show. Maybe this was a one-off occurrence. Maybe Smith is known for these kinds of sexist digs. But what I’m really, really tired of is middle-aged men in positions of influence reverting to sexist, degrading remarks as a way of undermining and belittling women in politics.

It’s the cat calls at Question Time. The sniffing of chairs. The unrelenting focus on a woman’s physical appearance. Age. Marital status. Sexuality.

You want to poke fun at Sarah Hanson-Young? Knock yourself out. Go for it. When you’re in politics, you’re fair game. But to resort to locker-room humour is repulsive. Next time, Michael Smith, instead of wasting your time cobbling together a tacky audio clip just cut to the chase and  say what you’re really thinking: Hey Senator Hanson-Young, show us your tits.

What do you think? Is the sketch funny or vile?  Have you experienced such blatant sexism in your workplace?