Ellen Degeneres

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Ellen Degeneres
Comedy is a tool that helps people to stay happy and positive despite hard times. People believe in the power of laughter, as it helps to reduce stress. Ellen DeGeneres is a well-known stand-up comedian that has become influential in the lives of many people. She uses comedy and humor to lead conversations about homosexuality (Neary). Being gay herself, she has used comedy to change how people view gay people since coming out in 1997. DeGeneres uses jokes and plays character that help to shed light on homosexuality, thereby enabling its visibility. It was hard to come out as she associated felt ashamed and hated herself because of the society’s stereotypes (Ellen DeGeneres: Saying, ‘I’m Gay’’). By addressing the issue, she hopes to change the mindset.
DeGeneres is among the people that have admitted to being gay, publicly, and she used humor to gain acceptance from the society gradually. One clear example of how she used her jokes to shed light on homosexuality is her famous quote saying, “With all of our differences, we all have one thing in common, we’re all gay” where she humorously uses the word gay and leaves the audience to decide which meaning DeGeneres is referring to (Ellen Degeneres-we are all gay). She then goes on to describe that she is talking about being homosexual jokes about everyone having a slight appeal to homosexuality.
DeGeneres has admitted that coming out was very difficult for her and it affected her career negatively because even her show was canceled due to the revelation (The Backlash).

She uses comedy to lighten the denial people had towards homosexuality by challenging people to rethink about shaming the LGBT community. Her use of comedy helps to get rid of stereotypes about gay people by giving it normality and casualness through jokes, something that has made her become the face of LGBT in America (Desilver). Her comedy challenges people into redirecting their beliefs and thinking which has influenced the society into adopting ways that were previously unaccepted. She has used comedy to encourage people into being confident and being themselves. Her comedy gives people morale to go through hard times by showing how strong she is despite her discrimination during her first years of coming out.

Works Cited
“Ellen DeGeneres: Saying, ‘I’m Gay.'” YouTube, uploaded by Makers, 11 June 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRu6XFUSYq0
“Ellen Degeners- we are all gay.” YouTube, uploaded by Maxi Lopez, 13 Sept 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD3DcGIS9cc
Desilver, Drew. “Ellen DeGeneres is the Most Visible Gay or Lesbian Public Figure in America.” Pew Research Center, 14 June 2013, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/14/ellen-degeneres-is-the-most-visible-gay-or-lesbian-public-figure-in-america/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Neary, Lynn. “How Ellen DeGeneres Helped Change The Conversation About Gays.” NPR.org, 25 Mar. 2013, www.npr.org/2013/03/25/175265720/how-ellen-degeneres-helped-change-the-conversation-about-gays. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
“The Backlash Ellen DeGeneres Faced After Coming Out | Oprah’s Master Class | Oprah Winfrey Network.” YouTube, uploaded by OWN, 26 Oct 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8BCbGLQ3Kw