On a sultry July night in Austin, Texas, comedian Jo Ellis passed through a black partition, unhooked a blood-red microphone at center stage, and told a packed club that after coming out as transgender in 2023, she became insecure about her voice. Sheets of blond hair draped her face; cowboy boots were strapped around her pale blue jeans. When she opened her mouth, Ellis did, indeed, display a timbre in the nascent stages of feminization. The sold-out Texas crowd, sauced well beyond their two-drink minimum, turned apprehensive, coiled for a fight.

Ellis was performing on Kill Tony , one of the most popular stand-up shows in America, with 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube, and also the absolute crucible of the art form’s anti-woke, MAGA-curious revolution. It’s hard to imagine an enviro

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