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Alexandra Johnsn

Ms. Kane

22 September 2019

RC 1000

Hey Girls...Relax

In Chris D’Elia’s ​Girls Are Always Stressed Out​, the comedian’s use of relatability,

incongruity theory, character footing, hyperboles, and the rhetorical appeal, logos, effectively

persuades the audience that girls are claiming to be stressed out rather than actually being

stressed out. By using these appeals, D’Elia exerts his message in a comedic way. D’Elia,

thirty-nine, successful in his work, is an actor, proud host of his own podcast show,

Congratulations​, as well as a stand-up comedian. He is known for his role in the ABC series ​The

Good Doctor,​ as well as his roles​ ​in the NBC shows, ​Whitney​ and ​Undateable. N
​ etflix watchers

are familiar with his stand-up work through his two released specials ​Man on Fire ​and

Incorrigible. ​D’Elia’s target audience, an audience he is most familiar with, range from teenagers

to young adults. Although the comedian is thirty-nine, he relates most to those younger than him,

as the majority of his humor is very immature and childish. His audiences thrive on his style of

humor, hence the popularity of his particular bit, ​Girls Are Always Stressed Out.

​ D’Elia begins his bit with the message “Hey girls...relax.” His pause between “girls”

and “relax” grabs the audience’s attention, girls in particular, making them wonder what he will

go on to say about the topic. Although somewhat offensive to the ladies, D’Elia presents the

message in a way which is relatable and makes the audience ponder their personal experiences

with women. Many men encounter women who are always complaining or stressed out about
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something. Women even complain to each other about being stressed out. D’Elia’s comment on

the subject brings light to the situation, to which the audience relates.

The incongruity theory allows two ideas to unexpectedly connect, with the outcome

being comedic. The members of D’Elia’s audience have all encountered a woman at some point

in their lives, and have made a mental note of how a woman looks and acts when she is stressed.

Women exaggerate and dramatize the fact of being stressed, D’Elia claims. At this point, the

audience has made the connection that this observation may be true and in fact, quite hilarious.

D’Elia uses the incongruity theory to connect with the audience and allow them to understand his

perspective. Simply stating “women are always stressed out” does not make the statement true or

funny, but by D’Elia’s way of elaborating on the topic, and using an exaggerated woman’s voice,

is what effectively communicates the joke to the audience.

Chris D’Elia is known for his hilarious impressions and facial expressions. He

over-exaggerates his actions and makes a complete fool of himself. He uses character footing

particularly well when impersonating women. The audience finds it comedic when D’Elia brings

to their attention that when encountering a woman, she always seems to be “having the most

stressful day!” D’Elia makes a point of using a certain intonation of his voice to make him sound

more like a woman. Not only does his high, womanly voice cause the audience to giggle, but the

joke itself, as he calls attention to women always claiming to be stressed out. Another instance of

D’Elia’s use of character footing is towards the end of the bit, when he challenges “girls like to

get stressed out, cause’ you brag about it, and you know what I can prove it because every girl in

here has said this at least three times this week. This is what you say right here. This is what girls

say..” and in a high pitched valley girl voice he says “I’ve literally been running around all day!”
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He quickly denies the fact that women claim to be “running around all day.” This exaggeration,

is being dissected by the comedian so he can make his point. The comedian is so persuasive and

goes on and on, hung up on the statement “I’ve literally been running around all day.” Each time

he repeats the phrase, he pauses and he thinks, giving the audience time to think and reflect on

what has just been said. The more it’s thought about, the more ludicrous it becomes, as it’s not

possible to actually be running around all day. It just doesn’t make sense. He then runs around in

a circle, acting like a child, screaming “La La La Laaa…” This, he says, demonstrates what it

would look like to run around all day, the “least stressful thing you could do!” His argument

turns more towards the statement that “girls always claim to be stressed out” instead of “girls are

always stressed out,” in short, meaning that girls are just dramatic and love to brag about being

stressed. D’Elia’s impression of this makes a strong assertion, that what he is arguing is true.

D’Elia uses the rhetorical appeal, logos, when mimicking a stressed woman he has

encountered before. He scrunches his eyebrows and puts on a really concerned face. While

talking in a dramaticized, valley girl voice, he exclaims to the audience “You wouldn’t even

know what happened even if I told you!” This statement clearly makes no sense. Use of this non

sequitur is what makes the statement funny; it is so absurd that it is ridiculously amusing. It

appeals to logos or the audience’s logic. The statement, when logically considered, makes no

sense. Towards the end of the bit, D’Elia persuades the audience that girls are always claiming to

be stressed out.“You know who does that? A child does that.” D’Elia states at the very end of the

bit, comparing the woman who claims to have been “running around all day.” to a child who

runs around, playing. “A child could literally shit his pants and not be stressed about that, okay?”

This comparison, or metaphor, is a way for the comedian to persuade his audience members that
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women who claim to be stressed out, are children; they don’t know how to act and they claim

they’ve been “running around all day,” when they don’t realize that their own statement

contradicts how they claim to be feeling.

Although many men have encountered a woman who always seems to be stressing over

something, one may not be able to come to the realization that she may just be claiming to be

stressed out. D’Elia’s use of rhetorical appeals allows his audience to reciprocate this message, in

a comedic way. The comedian’s relatability is the first step in the process of getting his audience

engaged. Once this is accomplished, D’Elia uses other rhetorical appeals such as logos and

incongruity theory to keep his audience mindful of their own personal experiences with women.

Finally, character footing brings D’Elia’s message all together, with the exaggeration of how

women act when claiming to be stressed.