Talk:Vanessa Bayer

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Fleural in topic Comedienne

List of impressions edit

WP:TRIVIA Wikipedia is not a list of trivial information. Cataloging every person that Bayer has portrayed in every skit is trivial. —Justin (koavf)TCM 01:23, 25 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

Comedienne edit

Hello, you reverted my edit to Vanessa Bayer's page. I'm a bit confused about it though. I'm not very experienced with wikipedia, so I apologize for any ignorance on my part, but I'm wondering on what grounds you wish to have the page refer to her as a "comedienne". To me this seems to be an archaic term and one that is not used very frequently to refer to female comedians on wikipedia or elsewhere. I checked the pages of other comedians like Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, Amy Schumer, Amy Poehler and Samantha Bee and only Samantha Bee was referred to as a "comedienne". (And her page used to refer to her as a comedian, just as Vanessa Bayer's used to. Both were edited without explanation.) Reliable sources, at least the ones cited on her page, refer to her as a comedian several times but never as a "comedienne".Fleural (talk) 04:13, 13 June 2021 (UTC) Moved from my user talk page -- Elizium23Reply

Defined here and defined here, it is a valid and normal word. Why do you have an objection to a feminine term for a woman? Elizium23 (talk) 04:18, 13 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
Because the word isn't common (Or at least doesn't seem to be to me, it certainly isn't the preferred term for female comedians on wikipedia, but I wouldn't know exactly how to quantify its wider use.) and it isn't the word reliable sources tend to use. "Actress", another feminine noun, doesn't trouble me, because it is common. I don't think wikipedia should be using an uncommon word when a common one would work just as well, the question of gender neutrality aside. Fleural (talk) 04:50, 13 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
While I wait for a response, I'll support my point by going through the sources and tallying up what term they use to refer to Bayer.
Sources calling Bayer a comedian
  1. NY times calls her a "comedian"
  2. Cleveland Jewish News calls her a "comedian"
  3. Penn Gazette Calls her a "comedian"
  4. The Emmys call her a "comedian" (though not at the address currently cited by the article, you have to click her bio.
  5. Her publisher, MacMillian, calls her a "comedian" in its about the author section
Sources calling Bayer a comedienne
Other
  1. Stereogum calls her a "comic"
The rest of the 20 sources either don't refer to her by any equivalent term or aren't currently accessible to me. I think that's a pretty strong argument for calling her a "comedian" in the lead.Fleural (talk) 01:16, 14 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
Fleural, thanks! I've added to your list! What do you think eh? Elizium23 (talk) 01:25, 14 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
That's not really the point. The list of sources calling her a comedian could also be multiplied. Don't you think the article should reflect what the sources that support it say, rather than what is out there in the aether? The person who changed it to "comedienne" did so with no cited reason and brought the article out-of-line with its sources. Additionally, I find you inserting your own sources into my list to be obnoxious and a violation of talk-page etiquette per WP:TPO.Fleural (talk) 01:50, 14 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
Fleural, that's odd, I thought we were discussing summarizing what the WP:RS say, and it seems like quite a few of them (twice as many as you found) describe her as a comedienne. Secondly, I assumed we were collaborating to find sources, and you were offering a space for editors to add our own findings, rather than some selfish static list of your sole design. Elizium23 (talk) 01:53, 14 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
I wasn't compiling an exhaustive list of the word choice of reliable sources, I was merely making a list of what all the currently cited sources have to say. I've removed your interpolation into my comment. I do concede that other reliable sources call her a "comedienne", but my contention is that it wouldn't be good to have an article that has a bunch of sources calling Bayer a comedian call her a "comedienne" in the lead. Maybe we could use both terms in the lead? But that strikes me as a bit unwieldy. Maybe another approach would be better. Do you think that "comedienne" should be used because it has reliable sources behind it, or do you have some other rationale?Fleural (talk) 02:22, 14 June 2021 (UTC)Reply