Amy Schumer's 6 Most Feminist Sketches

Amy Schumer's brand of feminism is unique in that it doesn't assume its watchers are all knowledgable about the issues at hand. Characters on feminist shows like Broad City and Girls assert their stance on feminist issues as though they are given, or assumed (with varying degrees of accuracy). Amy Schumer's feminism is more explanatory, and it doesn't take it for granted that her audience agrees with her; her most feminist sketches present arguments that are simple and sometimes come off as a little on-the-nose. However, it's good to see that she's not preaching to the choir.

Another unique element of Schumer's feminism is that it doesn't create a solidarity among women. While Broad City provides an amazing template for the kind of female friendship I wish I had, Schumer's outlook is bleaker. Girlfriends are as likely to self-immolate if you accept their compliments as they are to devote a talk show to badmouthing you. Hopefully, the Schumer audience is informed enough to see these sketches not as evidence that b****es be crazy, but as a commentary on the societal pressures on women which often force them to be competitive or insecure.

Schumer has amped up the feminism in Season 3; every part of the season premiere relates to a feminist cause in some way. Here are some of those sketches, ranked with Inside Amy Schumer's other most feminist sketches.

1. "Football Town Nights"

Basically, the perfect skewering of rape culture, featuring a risky hypothesis on why football culture and rape culture are so closely linked.

2. "Focus Group"

In this super meta sketch, a focus group of men is asked to comment on Inside Amy Schumer, but, rather than debate the relative merits of the show, they discuss whether they'd bang her.

3. "A Chick Who Can Hang"

Taking the cool girl debate to a hilarious extreme, this sketch mocks the expectation that women be both super hot and super not into feminine stuff. Because they have to look pretty, but you shouldn't have to hear about how they got there.

4. "A Very Realistic Military Game"

In which she skewers the role of women in video games, military assault, victim shaming, and a whole lot of other issues relating to rape culture in a sketch that is still hilarious.

5. "Operation Enduring Mouth"

Schumer writes what she knows; many of her feminist sketches show the way that women are reduced or objectified in the entertainment industry. This sketch explicitly points to the role that women are reduced to in action movies; the guy in charge gives a competent female agent the task of fellatio during a difficult mission.

6. "Last F***able Day"

The media tells women when they aren't f***able anymore. Men, obviously, are f***able until they die. Obviously, the fact that everyone agrees that Patricia Arquette, Tina Fey, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are incredibly attractive makes this even better, though perhaps weakens the message.

Image: Comedy Central