As of 2024, Twitter (X) has around 586 million active monthly users. While it's the most popular in America, 245 million people worldwide use the platform daily. While most people come on to Twitter (X) to have fun and decompress after a stressful day, just as many (48%) Americans say they use it to get news.

Many people also say they go to Twitter (X) to follow brands. In recent years, some brands have hit the goldmine with being funny. The iconic Wendy's clapbacks that started in 2017 ushered a new type of marketing strategy for brands: being funny and relatable in the age of internet memes.

Humor is important, but it can especially help women in some situations. One study found that humor helps more easily influence people and that women benefit more from using humor in public speaking than men. 

The researchers analyzed TED talk presenters, both male and female, and noticed that people thought of the funny women as more influential than their equally funny male counterparts or less funny female colleagues. 

Another research project also found similar things when they studied start-up pitches from CEOs. Investors and judges would favor funny pitches more than unfunny ones, regardless if they came from a man or a woman. Still, Ella Miron-Spektor, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, writes that people view funny women leaders as more competent, diligent, and independent.

Women leaders often fall victim to the confidence-warmth double bind. Research has shown in the past that people view assertive women as less likable and less influential, and more threatening to their male counterparts. Yet they can't appear too warm and friendly because then they're perceived as less competent.

So, how can women balance this impossible situation? Apparently, humor helps! People think that those who are funny have both competence and warmth. In the TED talk study, people rated one speaker "competent, warm and leader-like", and, most of all, highly funny.

Still, the comedy field is a pretty male-dominated environment, even in 2024. The numbers differ from source to source, but most claim that women don't make up even a third of all professional stand-up comedians in the U.S. That's due to the still prevailing stereotype that women aren't and can't be funny.

The first thing that pops to mind is misogyny, right? However, it isn't necessarily so bad. Some research suggests that men and women just have different preferences for the styles of humor that they enjoy. Women like more positive humor: amusing stories and observational comedy about daily life. Men, on the other hand, tend to enjoy more aggressive and sexual humor.

Sadly, looks also have a role in how female comedians are perceived. While this may not be as relevant for Twitter, some people still use their likeness as their profile picture. Research shows that people trust attractive women less. That can often work against them in front of live audiences and even online.

However, Katherine (Schreiber) Cullen, MFA, LCSW writes that we shouldn't think in such absolutes as "Women aren't funny", "Men are better comedians", etc. "Someone can dislike the humor, content, and style of female comedians yet still deeply respect women as a class or group and firmly believe they share equal dignity with men."