‘Québécoises, whether you like it or not…’ — Comedy vs. racism and misogyny in Quebec

A sports journalist and associate editor at The Athletic Montreal in another lifetime, standup comedian Emna Achour spent years covering the Montreal Canadiens, but says she eventually left the industry because it was too much of a Boys’ Club.

“Only,” she quips, “to turn to comedy, which is exactly the same thing.”

I first interviewed the Tunisian Quebecer in 2021 after seeing her perform in a few parody ads brilliantly skewering the CAQ government’s campaign against racism, which was perhaps a well-intended but overall groan-inducing attempt at putting an end to racial prejudice and stereotyping.

The parody ads, created by fellow comic Colin Boudrias featured Achour and other comedians poking fun at slightly out-of-touch government bureaucrats using Quebec minority groups to score points on “fighting racism” while continuing to stubbornly deny systemic racism exists.

Laughing at micro-aggressions and stereotypes

Achour has often used her comedy chops to skewer racism, xenophobia, the (mis)representation of cultural communities in the media and sexism. She routinely calls out comedy festivals and comedy shows where no women are featured in the lineup.

That same year, Achour also took part as a screenwriter and actor in another project, Moi j’ai un ami blanc! (Proud to Have a White Friend) which, once again, poked fun at racial stereotypes. Referred to as satirical web fiction, the project reversed social roles and showed a predominantly white viewership what it’s like to be seen as a monolith or an “exotic” token ethnic.

In 2022, she created and produced “Québécoises . . . que vous le vouliez ou non (Quebecers . . . whether you like it not)” for Zoofest’s comedy festival, as a way of showcasing local female comedians of colour. The promotional video for the all-women production showcases all the performers dancing and twerking to Quebec classic La bottine souriante’s La ziguezon and was a very tongue-in-cheek way of reminding Quebecers that the face of Quebec is changing and expanding to include more diversity. Achour is part of new generations of post–Bill 101 comedians reclaiming their plural identities and using anti-immigrant politics, social issues and “othering” — and the frustration and unease that often result from all these — as fodder for laughs. The show, featuring comedians of Mexican, Haitian, Turkish and other ethnic backgrounds, went on to win Zoofest’s People’s Choice Award.

“Unless people like me create and organize these types of comedy nights,” Achour says, “they don’t often happen. It’s a way of reminding people that we’re here and you can book more than one of us at any given time.”

Last year’s show sold out in 48 hours. This year’s first bilingual show features exclusively BIPOC women and non-binary folks, but also aims to bring together French-speaking and English-speaking comedians, who still often occupy different worlds.

“We never cross paths, we don’t go to the same bars, we never see each other,” Achour explains. “I recently went to catch an English comedy show and I realized I didn’t know many of the acts. It motivated me to produce a bilingual show.”

Using comedy as therapy

One of the comedians performing at the July 18 show is Sandy El Bitar, who emigrated here from Lebanon at the age of 20. The 35-year-old trilingual standup comedian worked as an actress and a clown doctor in pediatric units in Lebanon. When she arrived in Canada, her first job was at a Tim Horton’s in Aylmer, Quebec with people in their 60s. “To say that it was a cultural shock,” she says, “is an underestimate.”

Now living in Montreal, El Bitar works mainly in mental health as a therapist and wants to focus on producing comedy shows that can merge comedy with therapy work. “I built my sense of humour working in pediatrics or oncology, using humour to tackle grief and death.” Laughter is indeed a form of medicine. For her master’s degree, El Bitar studied how comedy, and fostering a sense of humour and a sense of play, can increase people’s resilience.

The comedian explains that conventional therapy can be very confrontational and requires a lot of effort and time. She aims to create shows under a therapeutic framework where audiences can connect with themselves, their emotions and with others. “It’s still therapy,” she says, “but with a much more fun and creative approach.”

A celebration of Montreal’s diversity

El Bitar will be joining Tamil Montrealer Raajee Chelliah, Magalie Kisilu Nlandu, Claudia Lopez, Tranna Wintour and many more women on stage to offer up an alternative to an industry that still remains very male and very white.

“The few men of colour in this industry are great about talking about racism,” Achour says, “but they’re not always great at discussing intersectionality, feminism, sexism and misogyny.” It’s why shows like mine, offering these non-mainstream perspectives, resonate with so many.” As someone who attended last year’s show, I can attest to a very appreciative audience.

Achour, however, still gives props to the many who paved the way for comedians who look like her. “I don’t know if there would have been an Emna,” she says, “if there hadn’t been a Sugar Sammy 10 to 15 years ago.”

As a female comedian, El Bitar also appreciates the opportunity to perform alongside women in shows where female-focused comedy is encouraged. “There are certain places where I don’t feel comfortable performing,” she says. “I’ve been to shows where the entire lineup was entirely male and maybe there were two women in the audience or the comedian hosting the show was making fat-phobic jokes.”

She says she often produces her own shows to create what she enjoys the most. “Many independent women in Montreal, creating and producing shows for us (performers and audiences alike), offer up a more diverse, aware, sensitive space. I want people to come and laugh, but I want them to essentially play together.”

Comedy: a way to push boundaries

As a tool for introspection, comedy has always offered up an opportunity to mirror society and presented a non-confrontational way to call out inequities or tackle what bothers us, what we are sometimes uncomfortable confronting –sexism and racism are often at the top of that list.

Comedy has always been an amazing tool for social change. By drawing audiences in and disarming them with humour, comedy pushes social boundaries and challenges preconceived ideas and traditional roles. When Achour says that you should come to the show so you can laugh at something other than tired old jokes about your mother-in-law or your girlfriend “forcing” you to go apple-picking, sure, she’s cracking a joke and attempting to make people laugh, but she’s also poking fun at lazy tropes and comedy that often uses women or cultural minorities as easy punchlines.

Besides, when it comes to social and political commentary, there’s often nothing more powerful than comedy for showcasing the absurdities of any political landscape (Quebec’s included) and holding those in power accountable. There’s also no shortage of recent political blunders to skewer.

“With the CAQ in power,” Achour says, “the jokes often write themselves.” ■

QUÉBÉCOISES is happening at Ausgang Plaza (6524 St-Hubert) on Thursday, July 18, 8 p.m. For more information and to buy tickets, please click here.

Read more weekly editorial columns by Toula Drimonis.