How to be a funny but preachy woman, Caitlin Moran-style

I can be filthy sometimes. Not in a cleanliness way, but in a humour way.

Yes, I put my hand up and say that if there is an opportunity to sprinkle a little durrrtiness onto the telling of a joke, I am very happy to do it.

So it wasn't for lack of appreciation of 'bold' talk that I found Caitlin Moran's gig at Vicar Street last weekend shocking.

Nope. It was her lecturing that I found offensive, and I was shocked by the standing ovation she got at the end.

Thanks be to the feminist Gods that I wasn't alone. My good pal Amanda Brunker, one who be a bit blue at the best of times, was also hugely disappointed in the show.

We stared at each other many times throughout, wondering why we weren't getting it.

feminist

Caitlin Moran is a feminist. She also writes for the London Times and has published the bestseller How To Be A Woman. She has a passionate gang of followers, who were very vocal on Saturday night.

The show opened well as Caitlin recounted her appearance on the Late Late Show.

She summed up perfectly the ridiculous nature of this show - the guests before her being a woman talking about a trip around Ireland with a donkey, and a dancer bouncing around to Swan Lake.

But then the night progressed into a meandering mess of Moran musing. Firstly, she got us all to stand on our chairs (well everyone else apart from Amanda, me and the mother and daughter who shared our table) and asked us to shout, "I am a feminist".

The audience went nuts with this. It was as if decades of feminism had never taken place.

The audience squeeled when she said words like 'cock' or when she told us her 'top three menstruating' stories.

They screamed their heads off in support when she lifted up her top and showed us her belly. This very normal sized body was supposed to be liberating for us all. Her wobbly bits meant to inspire us.

patronising

Worst of all though was Moran's monologue about the poor, which was simply patronising.

I was confused and turned to Amanda, stating: 'she doesn't know anything about poor people'.

But it turns out she's the eldest of a family of eight from a council house. Even worse then.

The fact is that I'll never be a member of the Church of Caitlin.

I admire her that she tackled the issue of abortion. But her pop culture feminism left me cold.

Caitlin Moran is a brilliant stand up comedian. Perhaps she should just stick to the funny stuff.

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