These performers will no longer make fun of themselves just for laughs. And they’re transforming comedy across the globe. When Cameron Esposito was in college, she had a friend who would memorize her class schedule, hide behind a nearby tree, jump out and tackle her to the ground. His behavior made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t know how to deal with it. So whenever they hung out, she would drink. One night, after heavy drinking, they went back to her dorm room. “I know that I didn’t say yes,” Esposito says. “I also know that I couldn’t have.” She pauses. “This is the shit I think we’re not talking about — we’re just at the edge … and I want to push it further.” Esposito isn’t delivering a talk on sexual assault. This is part of her new stand-up comedy special, Rape Jokes, performed live at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) in Los Angeles. And she’s not alone in taking this counterintuitive approach to comedy. For decades, self-deprecation has been viewed as the essence of successful comedy, the ability to laugh at oneself a vital part of any comic’s toolkit. But a growing band of comedians is flipping the script on modern humor, using comedy specials and stand-up routines to vocalize marginalization and injustice they’ve faced — while making the audience laugh. | 