I slept late on Thursday morning and couldn’t find my motivation to get dressed. While enjoying my breakfast of Purely Elizabeth blueberry lemon oatmeal, I watched part of comic Tig Notaro’s standup special, “Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted.”
Tig is one of my favorite comics. Her quirky timing along with her charming, not quite deadpan delivery, always has me in stitches. I’d never actually watched this special, though, and was totally unprepared to see her slender form dressed only in blue jeans, her top having been discarded at a point prior to my tuning into the program.
Tig is a breast cancer survivor, and I don’t think I knew that until I saw her bare chested on the television. Was I shocked? Yes. Women don’t just bare their chests, even chests without breasts, on television. Right? Well, apparently Tig does.
At first I had a difficult time watching the special. It’s like I didn’t know where to look. Didn’t she know her shirtless appearance would cause discomfort among some viewers? “Holy cow, lady, put your top back on,” I thought in a really loud internal voice.
But then I forgot to be uncomfortable. And I began to cheer her bravery in the midst of her comedy. What a badass.
Now I need to see the special from the beginning. I imagine the reactions of her audience as she first removes her button down shirt. There’ll most likely be some gasps. People won’t know where to look. But me? I’ll be cool with it. I’ll tell those uncomfortable folks to just chill. Tig’s got a point to make and you’re going to want to be looking when she makes it.
Peace, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 
I admire her in general, but with added enthusiasm as she asks us to confront our own ideas and discomfort. Thanks for speaking about this special and your own very real reaction.
Also, I was intrigued by your oatmeal, googled it and now realize that it is sold just down the street and in most stores I generally shop at! I love oatmeal and this looks like a brand I want to try. Thanks!
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I LOVE this oatmeal. I’m not a pure vegan, though, so I add honey. It needs a little sweetening.
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I think it’s a bad mix. If she wants to do a breast cancer ad and do that , it makes sense. If I go to a comedy club to laugh ,I don’t want to be reminded of my dead wife’s breast cancer by her bare chested shock value move. What if Steve Martin had testicular cancer…can he shake his ballless sack on stage ?
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Only if he still plays his banjo.
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Read the comment below this. Explains why Tig removes her shirt.
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If you’ve watched the whole thing, Ias I recall it, you will have seen that she took her shirt off because she was talking about her cancer experience and some asshole in the audience shouted, “take your shirt off!” She looks shocked, then embarrassed, and then kind of grim, but she shut that dick up straightaway when she did what he asked.
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I haven’t gotten to see it from the beginning. Good for her!
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Courageous indeed; I would feel very queasy
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One of the commenters on this post shed some light on the context of Tig’s shirtless state. Apparently while Tig was talking about her breast cancer some idiot in the audience heckled her, telling her to take off her shirt. So she did.
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I was confused before I read that comment. It explains the situation.
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