Amy Schumer: A woman joking about 'catching d**k' is funny, but it shouldn't be trailblazing

Finally, an alternative to the male-centric comedy we’re constantly subjected to

Amy Schumer brought the house down at the Glamour Awards, and made Jennifer Saunders laugh too (Rex Features)

If a woman can fill an awards speech by talking about periods, above-the-knee hair and having sex exactly when she wants, she’s a woman I want to hear more of.

At the Glamour Awards, Amy Schumer, a 34-year-old American comedian, was awarded Trailblazer of the Year and gave a speech that literally every woman should be exposed to. Literally. Every. Woman.

Punctuated with swear words - because she’s a badass okay?- Schumer spoke about body confidence and acceptance of her own identity, despite what the distortive media can force upon women. Summing it all up in typical Schumer style, she said: “I'm 160lbs and can catch a dick any time I want.”

Schumer’s brash and unapologetic talk turns female stereotypes around, and inverts what’s normally a form of oppression: sexually objectification. It’s real stuff, and she offers an alternative to the male-centric comedy we’re constantly subjected to.

Schumer talks about loving the skin you’re in, which is a hard message to actually live by, but seeing people who are so prominent accept their flawed sense of self is inspiring. It shouldn’t matter what weight she is, but hearing a woman admit to an actual number and not give a damn is refreshing.

The rapturous applause she received from the audience when she talked about growing breasts as a 13-year-old, getting her period, and having a one-night stand at college is because ‘women like us’ have lived and continue to live through these experinces. Finally hearing (good) jokes about real things we have been through is refreshing. At school, we would congregate in the toilets and play who-can-stick-the-most-pencils-between-their-boobs (I would always win). At university, we would play Careless Whisper through each other’s door in halls when we brought someone back. Is it vulgar? Maybe. But really, who cares - it's also funny.

A lot of Schumer’s sketches use women’s magazine as comedy ‘fodder’. The message she is sending is that we shouldn’t have to feel bad or embarrassed for being women doing real woman things.

We can all look forward to the day when what Schumer is doing isn’t trailblazing. What she’s saying and doing should be the norm, where women can talk about their sexual exploits, their imperfect bodies and it isn’t classed as vulgar or improper. So keep doing you, Amy Schumer. I wish my 14-year-old self heard a speech on hanging pine fresheners from vaginas.