“Hello, I Am Kurdish”: Ethnic Humor and Representing Kurdishness in Turkey’s Stand-Up Comedy

This article investigates how Kurdish identity is performed, contested, and negotiated within Turkey’s stand-up comedy scene, a space increasingly marked by ethnic visibility and political ambivalence. Based on 15 in-depth interviews with professional Kurdish and Turkish comedians, the study explores how humor functions as both a site of cultural representation and a mechanism of racialized hierarchy. The recurring stage phrase “Hello, I am Kurdish” is examined not merely as comic material but as a loaded utterance that reflects deep-seated societal prejudices and the historical suppression of Kurdish identity. While humor enables a partial reappropriation of stigma and offers potential for subversion, it also risks reinforcing entrenched stereotypes through self-deprecation and audience validation. This article highlights the ambivalent role of ethnic humor: it can simultaneously serve as a language of resistance and as a tool of conformity. The findings suggest that the transformative potential of stand-up comedy is constrained by classed and racialized dynamics within Turkey’s public sphere. Ultimately, the study contributes to critical debates on race, ethnicity, and cultural performance by demonstrating how ethnic humor reflects broader power structures and offers insight into minority subjectivities under authoritarian conditions.