Bloody Mary is a podcast about feminism, sex and horror films hosted by Chicago comic Kristin Ryan. I am not a huge fan of the horror genre so I pitched her a non-traditional “horror” film, The Accused. She agreed it was “scary as shit.” Spoiler alerts!
Listen to us dialogue about rape culture, bystander accountability, women’s lack of credibility and the flaws of the justice system. It’s actually funny too!
Listen here: Bloody Mary Podcast Episode 14: The Accused with Alicia Swiz
The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for Esquire. Read the full article here
I live and perform in Chicago, where I host a show called Feminist Happy Hour. It’s also a city where white men dominate most performance spaces, especially comedy rooms where rape jokes and victim blaming are celebrated as much as the Blackhawks. And it’s not just the humor that’s toxic, as women who perform in Chicago experience assault that happens offstage as much as it does onstage.
The intersections of power and race and privilege make white-dude comics a very specific trope. Comedy, as an institution, is already inherently sexist (and racist, and homophobic). There is an informal agreement among comics that nothing is off-limits, which works out best for cisgender, straight, white guys. If you’re the most powerful person in the room, nothing is off-limits.
But this issue isn’t just Chicago’s problem, or New York’s. There is a larger cultural conversation about comedy, accountability, and the experiences of being a woman, which was triggered last week by the UCB rape investigation, Inside Amy Schumer writer Kurt Metzger’s Facebook post, and Schumer’s problematic responses to it all. After engaging in online messaging with a friend of mine, Metzger asked to call in as a guest on Feminist Happy Hour.
PopGoesAlicia LIVE! is back for another fun-filled evening of drinks, food and hilarious dialogue about the intersections of gender, feminism and current pop-cultural events live from The High-Hat Club.
Guests this month are comic Ashley Huck, comic Mikey Manker and host of Grown Folks Stories, Cara Brigandi. Ashley and Mikey will warm us up with short sets and I’ll chat for a bit with Cara about Chicago culture and curating her long running storytelling show before all 3 launch into a fast-paced panel. Come out and join the conversation!
Here’s a preview of some of the topics we’ll be popping off at the mouth about. Click the link to read the original article.
The Vocal Fry Debate. How do we feel about well-known feminist, Naomi Wolf, criticizing girls for the way they talk? NOT COOL. But these critical responses sure are. The Frisky’s Caitlin White argues it’s not Vocal Fry but basic misogyny that is holding women back while, the always on point, Amanda Marcotte, for The Daily Dot, argues that policing the way women speak is just code for telling them to shutup. Where do you stand?
“Why It’s Not Cool to Criticize a Female Musician For Not Being ‘Ladylike’” – Great article by friend of the show & Chicago Huffington Post Editor, Joe Erbentraut. The title says it all.
RONDA ROUSEY: Feminist role model or not? The Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi has some thoughts…What are yours?
It’s a goal of mine this year to publish more positive & lighthearted pieces in addition to thinkpieces and feminist critiques. This one felt good to write and I’m looking forward to publishing more on The Frisky.
From the jovial opening scene of Pennsatucky driving with Bell and Maxwell, the two female guards, to the final rush of freedom among the entire group, season three covers a lot of emotional territory, most of it compelled by the unique friendships the women have forged with one another. There is a fragility and vulnerability that informs the way the characters interact with one another and it’s the tenderness, and not the ways the reproduce traditional masculine power dynamic, that make their connections all the more powerful.
Read the full article here.
alicia swiz 
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