Kate McKinnon: SNL’s first lesbian cast member
There’s no good reason why comedy is soooooo dominated by men, even if Christopher Hitchens said otherwise. It has more to do with who we feel safe to laugh at, who can be self deprecating without being met with revulsion, and the interaction between a performer’s material/persona and our ability (and motivation) to empathize with it.
Often, in the industries that have historically been super dominated my men, the women who break in are slightly more likely to be queer (see: all of professional sports). That’s partially because these are the women who are not threatened by the idea of being perceived as less feminine and (more to the point), not worried about what men won’t date them because they’re doing this controversial thing. And YET Saturday Night Live, America’s standard-bearer for sketch comedy, had not yet had an openly gay female cast member in its 37ish years…. until NOW.
*cue the Chariots of Fire soundtrack*
Enter Kate McKinnon, who like Wanda Sykes, Lily Tomlin, Ellen and a few others, rocks the dual titles of lesbian and female comedian. Let’s get familiar, shall we?
Here’s a quickie: Along with Sue Galloway from 30 Rock, she stars in this short sketch about running into people you know from…. somewhere…….. Look for a cameo from Lutz. Kate is the girl in the couple.
Ellie Kemper (The Office) and Sue Galloway (again) are also featured in this short about “the wildest bachelorette party on the internet.” Kate is the blonde in the blue dress.
Kate joins an all-female ensemble cast to parody the world of feminist zine journalism. In this episode, the staff of Vag magazine is shocked to learn their cover celebrity is also slated to appear on the cover of rival third-wave feminist magazine Cunt. Kate plays “Bethany.”
And finally… you can see Kate butt her way into a celesbian interview show to flirt with sexy Dani Campbell, a firefighter made famous by her tour on the bisexual reality dating show Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.
