Fumerist Autoethnography: Developing a New Relationship between Performer and Audience

Fumerist Autoethnography is a new approach to autoethnographic performance making that combines fumerist stand-up comedy and autoethnography into a merged artistic praxis that is feminist, funny, and examines the performer-audience relationship. The term ‘fumerist’, first coined by stand-up comedian Kate Clinton, describes the ‘firebrand humour’ that ‘captures the idea of being funny and wanting to burn the house down all at the same time’ (Willett et al., 2019: 27). In titling this new approach Fumerist Autoethnography I aim to ‘foreground a feminism that does not brood over victimhood or in-advertently perpetuate images of female suffering and sacrifice’ (Willett et al., 2019: 27). This Practice as Research (PaR) investigation seeks to develop a new relationship between autoethnographer and their audience. To develop this new autoethnographic praxis, I adapt Nelson’s Modes of Knowing Praxis model which entails ‘a multi-mode approach to PaR and evidence produced through different modes of knowledge: “know-how; know-what and know-that”’ (Nelson, 2013: 38). For Fumerist Autoethnography Praxis, Know-That I outline the theoretical frameworks of fumerism and stand-up comedy and argue that fumerist stand-up comedy being integrated into autoethnographic practice will develop a stronger feminist autoethnographic practice; Know-How, I demonstrate my embodied knowledge through my autoethnographic and fumerist stand-up comedy practice and illustrate how my blending of the two forms led to the development of We’re Like Sisters; Know-What I evaluate the Fumerist Autoethnography process by proposing a set of evaluation criteria to critically reflect on the performances of We’re Like Sisters and my relationship with audiences. In the aftermath of a global pandemic, the worrying rise of far-right ideologies, and resurgence in violent misogyny, now is the time for narratives forms and approaches to research that invite us to laugh and mock the patriarchy and to ‘shake up oppressive norms with a good and gutsy belly laugh’ (Willett et al., 2019: 27).