The depiction of pregnant women in popular media is laughably predictable. The woman generally oscillates between adoringly vulnerable:

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, directed by Kirk Jones, a man.

to hyperbolically Bey-like fierceness.

Katherine Heigl auditioning for Sigourney Weaver/Aliens redux.

Rare are the portrayals of pregnant women simply doing their thing. Of these women being… you know… themselves. But whose character also happen to be pregnant.

Recently I’ve watched a couple of outstanding shows that have broken this mold.

So, here’s giving dap to satisfyingly complex and ragingly pro-female performances that never even utter that other “F” word (feminism).

1. The Comic

It takes huge balls — not to mention tremendous comedic dexterity — to joke about your miscarriage while railing (sort of but not really) against Lean In feminism, and to do so in a meaningfully hilarious way.

But that’s what Ali Wong does in her new special Baby Cobra.

Ali Wong, stand-up comedian.

Some comics have a schtick. However, despite having many schticks to choose from, like being 1) a woman, 2) Asian-American, or 3) pregnant, Wong challenges simplistic categorization.

Sure, she jokes about all three quite a bit.

But those jokes don’t define her 60 min special.

In fact, Wong’s pregnancy doesn’t come up in her act until nearly ⅔ into the show.

When she does fold it in she goes balls to the wall.

She calls out double standards of what constitutes being a good father versus being a good mother, gets into graphical detail on a woman’s vagina and bowels, and rounds it out with more than a little physical comedy.

Get that sweet sweet Harvard nectar all up in there, Ali.

Note: Miley Cyrus ain’t got nothing on a tiny pregnant Asian lady twerkin’ on a stage in Seattle.

Wong embraces her femininity in all her satisfyingly vulgar glory while also talking about topics ranging from ayahuasca ceremonies to how dating Jewish men is like getting an exfoliation you didn’t ask for.

But really the point is this: the first thing I or anyone who’s also seen the show says about her is that she’s hilarious. Full stop.

No caveats. No pre-ambles about her being 7.5 months pregnant. No reference to “empowerment”.

She’s simply, and utterly hilarious.