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How This Rising Star Reacted When Men Told Her She Was ‘Too Pretty to Do Comedy’
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How This Rising Star Reacted When Men Told Her She Was ‘Too Pretty to Do Comedy’

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Elouise Eftos didn’t grow up thinking she was good looking.
“I was ‘the wog girl’. I thought being blonde was beautiful,” the Sydney-based comedian, who has Greek-Macedonian descent, tells SBS News.
She also didn’t think she was funny, which made her decision to call herself “Australia’s first attractive comedian” all the bolder.
“I wanted to do something funny and a little bit provocative,” Eftos says of taking on the title, a nod to men in the industry who told her she was “too pretty to do comedy.”

“A woman knowing she’s attractive or knowing she’s intelligent or knowing she’s funny, I think, is one of the most punk rock things you can do… because society, patriarchy, has always made us believe that we have to please people and make sure we put ourselves down to make other people feel comfortable.”

Stand-up comedy was a bucket list item for Eftos, a trained actor, dancer and singer with a degree in film and journalism. Credit: Afrina Razi

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Australia is a country where the tall poppy syndrome (which Eftos derides as a ‘sick part of our culture’) thrives and countless stand-ups have made successful careers out of self-deprecation, ruffling many feathers.

“It almost became a litmus test of, ‘Are people going to project their own insecurities onto it? Are they going to put me down because they think I’m insulting other women?'” Eftos adds, noting that the title doesn’t refer to a specific gender.

I just thought it was amazing how many comedians couldn’t take the joke.

A bad feminist?

Instead of shying away, Eftos encouraged her and provided creative fodder for her debut solo show, Australia’s First Attractive Comedian.
Billed as a ‘bold and hilarious exploration of the relationship between comedy, feminism and sexiness’, it has won awards, including Director’s Choice at the Sydney Comedy Festival, and received critical acclaim both in Australia and abroad, proving she is much more than just a pretty face.
From the moment the show opens with a tribute to the infamous interrogation scene from Basic Instinct, Eftos’ talent for acting, dancing and singing, in addition to her razor-sharp stand-up skills, are on full display.

As her hyper-confident and playful onstage persona, she makes short work of men who see her as a one-dimensional sex object, with a recurring fantasy sequence, and jokes about comedy that aren’t that difficult, reminiscent of Elle Woods’ iconic line in Legally Blonde about getting into Harvard Law School.

The “hectic” internalized misogyny displayed by those who preach feminism while judging her based on how she dresses or treating her as “the other woman” also comes in the line of fire.
“I have a joke about how a famous comic that I’m a big fan of got up on stage and said, ‘I hate the new wave of female comics. They’re all hot and sassy and talk about blowjobs. I’ll never be like that,'” she says.
“It’s like, ‘Okay, don’t do that. Good for you.’

“If wearing jeans and a T-shirt on stage makes you feel empowered, then more power to you. But I’m not a bad person or a bad feminist because I wear a dress and heels.”

Eftos’ intention in airing these grievances is not necessarily to bash those who have wronged her, but to encourage the audience to interrogate their own biases and question the “weird double standards” women face.
“We’re told all our lives, ‘You’re not good enough. You have to do this, you have to do that,'” she says.
“I even play all these different characters and things to convey that we’re told we have to be a certain way, and once we’re a certain way, it’s not good enough.

“It’s like I’m damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t.”

A woman dressed in white lingerie, white boots and a white veil performs on stage

The Femmebot is one of several characters Eftos plays in her show Australia’s First Attractive Female. Source: Delivered

Making comic history

Eftos made history earlier this year as the first Australian woman to receive a Best Newcomer nomination at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards.
It’s an award that has only strengthened her resolve.
“I think a lot of people underestimated me for a long time,” she says, admitting that offstage she is “a pretty anxious person” who struggles with self-doubt.
“[The nomination] It has made it clear that I am someone to watch and that I am good at what I do.”

Eftos followed up that career milestone with a sold-out run at London’s famous Soho Theater and will perform at the Sydney Opera House this week as part of Just For Laughs before returning abroad next year.

A woman, wearing a red tartan top and black trousers, poses with an award trophy. Behind her are gold balloons in the shape of the number 45

Elousie Eftos is the first Australian comedian to be nominated for the Best Newcomer award since Nath Valvo in 2016. Source: Facebook / Elouise Eftos

Spending so much time away from her family, who live in Perth, is one of the hardest parts of working in entertainment, she says.

But there is some comfort in knowing that she is making the dreams of women, like her Yiayia Sofia, come true, for whom a career in the spotlight wasn’t even an option.
“She’s such a character and she was always singing and dancing,” Eftos says of her grandmother, who affectionately calls her a “tra la la girl.”

“I think maybe this is what she was born to do, and I feel like I’m doing it for her,” she continues, her voice cracking with emotion.

Looking for real connection

There is a vulnerability in Eftos that she normally does not reveal during a performance. But that’s something she wants to tap into with her second show, which will explore modern dating and her insecurity about whether love is real.

“I feel like men treat me in two ways: they try to put me down, or they treat me like a trophy,” she says, lamenting whether she will ever meet someone who really sees her for who she is.

If I am a liberated, confident woman, am I truly desirable, or am I only desirable to a certain extent and therefore never truly connected?

“It’s a really interesting thing that a lot of women are struggling with right now.”
She also wants to talk more about her heritage, including the conflict she feels between “a good Greek girl” and an empowered woman.

“I’m very superstitious, I think because of the way my grandmother raised me, and I think there’s a part of me that feels like I might be punished and never find love because I’m an outspoken woman,” she says.

After such a successful debut, there’s an inevitable sense of anticipation that Eftos will deliver another hit, but it’s one she takes in stride.
“[This show] is a little more ambitious, so I’m a little nervous about it,” she says, teasing that she plans to start the show dressed as the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite.
She adds with a laugh, “I’ll see if I can do it… and if I can’t, I’ll just say, ‘You guys don’t get it.'”

Elouise Eftos will perform as part of Women Aren’t Funny, presented by Abbie Chatfield, at the Sydney Opera House from November 14 to 16.

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