Glee Club, Glasgow

The masculine-presenting lesbian comedian from New York delivers a superb set, packed with big laughs and ingenious, logic-bending humor. In an era where celebrating traditional masculine virtues in comedy might seem a little dated, Ashley Gavin offers a refreshing and unconventional perspective. As a masc lesbian comic, she turns these established tropes on their head, creating a performance of joyous iconoclasm, abundant laughter, and wonderfully convoluted gender logic.

Ashley Gavin was a seasoned stand-up comedian who gained significant online popularity during the pandemic. Her online presence, including viral “crowd work” clips and her podcast “We’re Having Gay Sex,” has cultivated a dedicated and predominantly queer fan base. In her show, she embodies the role of a cherished best friend or older sister, sharing her personal journey of freezing her eggs. She playfully describes herself as a woman who dresses like a teenage car mechanic enthusiast and, with a wink, dismisses more feminine women as “a bunch of pussy-ass bitches.”

The true delight of Gavin’s performance lies in her masterful dismantling of gender conventions. Each routine skillfully subverts our expectations of what men, women, or even masculine lesbians are supposed to do and be. The show opens with Gavin, a self-proclaimed “lesbian with a Brazilian,” undergoing a waxing treatment. Later, the New Yorker provocatively argues, relishing the audience’s discomfort, that the clitoris is essentially a “tiny dick.” She also delves into the act of penetration, questioning if it might not just as easily be perceived as “envelopment.” In a comedic flourish, she even contends that two “boy lesbians” getting together is “against God.”

English Translation:

Ashley Gavin Review: A Close Look at the Clitoris, Gender, and the ‘Manly’ Business of Getting Pregnant

Glee Club, Glasgow

The masc lesbian comic from New York delivers a superb set with big laughs and twisty logic. Old-school standup celebrating the traditional masculine virtues? It’s fallen a little out of fashion. But it’s a different story when a masc lesbian comic delivers that material – a story of gleeful iconoclasm, big laughs, and twisty gender logic.

Ashley Gavin was a jobbing standup who blew up online during the pandemic, and whose output – including viral “crowd work” clips and the podcast We’re Having Gay Sex – has secured an ardent, largely queer fanbase. She’s like their best pal or big sis tonight, recounting how a woman who dresses like a teenaged wannabe car mechanic (and who – tongue firmly in cheek – considers more feminine women to be “a bunch of pussy-ass bitches”) came to be freezing her eggs. The pleasure is in how Gavin lays siege to gender convention, with one routine after another scrambling the signifiers of what we expect men, women, or indeed masculine lesbians, to do and be. The opener finds “lesbian with a Brazilian” Gavin submitting herself to a waxing treatment. Elsewhere, the New Yorker ventures the argument – while savouring the discomfort it generates – that the clitoris is essentially a “tiny dick”. Later, she muses on penetration (might it not equally be seen as “envelopment”?) and contends that two “boy lesbians” hooking up with one another is “against God”.