This paper focuses on the standup comedian Ali Wong and her three Netflix specials, Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong. Taking a corporeal feminist approach, this paper sets out to analyze pregnancy, the central topic in Wong’s comedy, and its relation to her subjectivity. It is argued that pregnancy, as an authentic female experience alongside childbirth and breastfeeding, enables Wong to challenge and thereby subvert the prevalent narratives of motherhood and sexuality, articulating a female autonomous voice. From the disciplinary body in Baby Cobra to the misshapen body in Hard Knock Wife to the sexualized body in Don Wong, the three comedy specials both witness and reveal a gradual and subtle enhancement of her subjectivity. With this regard, pregnancy as a unique female experience does not deprive her sense of self but fuels it.

Authors:
Honghui Liu, Sichuan University, China

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Honghui Liu is a University Postgraduate Student at Sichuan University in China

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