Now that the world has finally opened back up again for live performances, women and non-binary performers are storming standup comedy stages like never before, and it can be tough to keep tabs on every great comic whose star is on the rise. That’s why we’ve gathered this list of five of our faves, so you can get in the know now—and someday say you “knew them when.”
Why we love her: This British comic has been honing her overtly feminist, observational comedy craft since 2004, but her latest tour, Bobby Dazzler, really helped her level up in the U.S. this past spring. “I stopped buying women’s magazines a few months ago. It just feels like there’s nothing there for me. Why would I buy anything where the only time I ever see anybody who looks like me is underneath the word, ‘Before’”?
Why we love her: Whether she’s breaking down dating while fat or dishing about balls and bidets, Zigrino’s hot takes are pure hilarity. Checkout her special, Jen-Z, on Comedy Central’s YouTube page. Choice quote: [On a partner who thought she’d had an orgasm because she was wet.] “Dude, soup is wet, but just because it is on the stove,that doesn’t mean it is done cooking. Get back in there, chef.”
Why we love her: Dobbins takes audiences on an aspirational “trap yoga” journey, digs into lesbian weddings, and sends up hiking while Black. Find her comedy album, Black & Blue, wherever you stream. Choice quote: “We’re never going to have common sense gun laws so we’re going to have to make a smart gun with a psychiatrist Siri [in it who will] ask you a few questions before you are allowed to fire. ‘Do you live in your mother’s basement? Have you ever written a manifesto? Are you a white male aged 19 to 95? Is this the most intimate conversation you have ever had with a woman?’”
Why we love them: Raised by hippies, this Canadian Comic breaks down the gender spectrum and calls out stand ups who just don’t get it. Find their special, SAP, on Netflix.
Choice quote: [Reflecting on a conversation with their dad about the night they were conceived.] “‘Yes, I remember it well,’ he said. ‘The moonlight shone over your mother’s bottom.’ I now know the position I was conceived in. I am horrified. No one wants to be conceived doggystyle. It is so bleak. You want to be conceived face-to-face, eye contact at the moment of ejaculation—not, like, biting the pillow.”
Why we love her: This self-proclaimed “Beethoven of Cumming” will have you doubled over, even when she’s talking about eating babies or her favorite dictator. Her album, We’re Done Now, is available on iTunes. Choice quote: “Usually I go to the ladies room, but whenever I go in there, someone will always look at me, and then the sign, and then back at me as if I can’t read—drawings. We all saw the little triangle, that is a skirt, I know. I have worn a triangle before.”
PHOTOS: (SARAH MILLICAN) MATT CROCKETT; (IRENE TU) MATT MISISCO; (KARINDA DOBBINS) JENNIFER GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPHY; (JENNY ZIGRINO) STEPHAN JAHANSHAHI; (MAE MARTIN) JOSEPH SINCLAIR.
