{"id":2,"date":"2016-12-15T22:20:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T06:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/?p=2"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:22:22","slug":"dvp-interview-nina-g-and-alice-wong-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/2016\/12\/15\/dvp-interview-nina-g-and-alice-wong-2\/","title":{"rendered":"DVP Interview: Nina G and Alice Wong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alice Wong interviewed Nina G for the Disability Visibility Project\u2122 at StoryCorps San Francisco on October 2nd, 2014. In this clip, Nina talks about her experience as America\u2019s only female stuttering comedian, and how being a woman and a person living with a disability informs her experience as a comic. She also talks about how she uses comedy as a way to confront discrimination and challenge ableism.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-soundcloud\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1360\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F298166597&#038;show_artwork=true&#038;maxwidth=1360&#038;maxheight=1000\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3>Text Transcript:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Sound of people talking at a bar]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Clapping]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> My friend Dave, when he introduces me, he says, \u201cWhat can I say about Nina that wouldn\u2019t take a really long time for her to say about herself?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 01 begins: Fast-paced drumming with piano\/keyboard, fun]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\">I say that I\u2019m America\u2019s only female stuttering stand-up comedian and I\u2019m America\u2019s favorite because I really am the only one. Like, I&#8217;m the only stuttering stand-up comedian in the U.S. and in fact I used to &#8212; when I first started doing comedy, I said I was the world&#8217;s only, but there was a woman who popped up in England, um, so I cannot use that &#8220;world&#8217;s only&#8221; anymore.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> And are there certain words where you know you&#8217;ll stutter a little more, so if you want to emphasize a certain word, but you know you&#8217;ll stutter, will you kind of reshape the structure of what you will say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> You know? I try not to. I try not to. But there is one, one sentence that I do say that I know that I stutter more on this sequencing, and it works well comedically. And so, it s the only time that I stutter for a comedic emphasis which is&#8230; orgasms and stuttering have a lot in common because they both take a hell of fucking long. (laughter) So&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 01 fades out]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">A lot of comedy is bringing out the uncomfortability. And, kind of pointing out when able-bodied people are being assholes, to encourage, and to just kind of put it out there and so hopefully some behavior changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 02 begins: Bass with drumming and piano\/keyboard, funky]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">One of the &#8212; Once at an open mic I started and the first thing I say is that I&#8217;m America&#8217;s only female stuttering stand-up comedian. If you stutter I&#8217;m an inspiration; if you don&#8217;t I&#8217;m just an angry bitch. To just kind of lay it out, like, this is what to expect. And then, the next piece that I do is, I say my name. Like a guy asks me what my name is, then I say, it usually goes like &#8220;N-n-n-n-n-,&#8221; and I stutter on my name. And there was a woman once at an open mic who couldn&#8217;t look at me. She put her hand like this, over her eyes, and she just wouldn&#8217;t look. And she was right next to the stage. And so, I went up in front of her face and I did it. (laughter) Like right in front of her face. And it was so much fun! And it broke down the barrier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 02 fades out]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">You know like, part of the when I was thinking about doing comedy, which I had wanted to do comedy since I was 11, but because of the speech I didn&#8217;t think that was even a possibility. Um, and then I came back from a stuttering conference, and I had been reading some bell hooks at the time, and bell hooks was talking about how activists, a lot of times the females are just kind of off to the side, so like, they&#8217;re the wives, but when are they going to step into the light and take their role. I was like, &#8220;wait, I just &#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> That&#8217;s comedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Yeah, and as a woman, and as a woman with a disability, and as a woman who stutters, that is so hard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> And you&#8217;re always having to be more&#8230; holding it back. Right? Like, it&#8217;s kind of like, being good, being compliant, not making a scene.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Ok, now see, this is where &#8212; this is something we don&#8217;t always talk about in the disability world. But what I find, at least around my stuttering, is that men will tease you in a way that is like, that&#8217;s making fun of your disability, but kind of flirting with you at the same time, but kind of like trying to take a place of power at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> It&#8217;s kind, of we are this oddity where it&#8217;s almost like a fetish, where it&#8217;s kind of like, &#8220;oh, let me just flirt with this disabled girl, she&#8217;ll get a kick out of it.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Yes!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> Or, &#8220;she&#8217;ll enjoy it \u00a0because she never gets enough attention.&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> It&#8217;s like a pity fuck.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> &#8220;I&#8217;m doing you a favor.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> &#8220;You&#8217;re going to love it, and, you are going to remember me.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Yeah&#8230; isn&#8217;t that weird?!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 03 begins: Bass and xylophone]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Alice Wong:<\/strong> I feel that so much of comedy is observational. Right, and I think being within this minority perspective, of being a woman, or, having a disability, it really gives you great insights on the absurdity, I think, of human behavior. So, tell me about what are your inspirations in terms of material that you use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"><strong>Nina G:<\/strong> Let&#8217;s see. I mean, I think, whatever gets me really pissed off. Um, and whatever irritates the hell out of me. A lot of my comedy comes out of the micro aggressions that I experience. Like, the way that I look at comedy is what they say about prison. Is that, you have to beat someone up on the first day. (laughter) And so, I don&#8217;t let anybody say anything about me. And, about my speech, without putting them down right away. So, I take them down a few pegs. Cause they try to, and I&#8217;m all, &#8220;Uh, no, so you better shut the fuck up.&#8221; (laughter) You know what I mean? <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left:30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">[Music 03 fades out]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Music Credit:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Music 01: &#8220;Gravy&#8221; by Podington Bear (Licensed under\u00a0Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Music 02: &#8220;60&#8217;s Quiz Show&#8221; by Podington Bear\u00a0(Licensed under\u00a0Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Music 03: &#8220;Sidecar&#8221; by Podington Bear\u00a0(Licensed under\u00a0Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">*Source: Freemusicarchive.org<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center;\"><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center;\"><b>Support Disability Media and Culture <\/b><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/DVP\"><b>DONATE<\/b><\/a><b> to the Disability Visibility Project\u2122!<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><b>Suggested Reference<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">Disability Visibility Project\u2122. (2016, December 15). DVP Interview: Nina G and Alice Wong. Retrieved from:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/p4H7t1-2\">http:\/\/wp.me\/p4H7t1-2<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Image Description<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>A photo featuring Alice Wong and Nina G taken on October 2, 2014:\u00a0Two women sitting next to each other, smiling and looking at the camera. The woman on the left is Asian American, and is wearing a red jacket with a purple turtleneck and eye glasses. The woman on the right is Italian American, has long brown hair that is pinned back, and is wearing red lipstick<\/p>\n<h3>Credits<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">Produced for the Disability Visibility Project\u2122 by Geraldine Ah-Sue and Alice Wong with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the story of our lives. For more: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.storycorps.org\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">www.storycorps.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.disabilityvisibilityproject.com\"><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">www.disabilityvisibilityproject.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alice Wong interviewed Nina G for the Disability Visibility Project\u2122 at StoryCorps San Francisco on October 2nd, 2014. In this clip, Nina talks about her experience as America\u2019s only female &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/2016\/12\/15\/dvp-interview-nina-g-and-alice-wong-2\/\" class=\"read-more\">Continue Reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">DVP Interview: Nina G and Alice Wong<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[548705951],"tags":[551808225,5656095,211897,6694],"class_list":["post-2","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvp-interviews","tag-americas-only-stuttering-female-stand-up-comedian","tag-female-comedian","tag-stand-up-comedy","tag-stuttering","post-has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/sfb002922_g1.jpg?fit=5184%2C3456&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4H7t1-2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityvisibilityproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}