Jenn Hayward: A "Flawed" But Proud Feminist

Everyone has flaws, but comedian and author Jenn Hayward celebrated hers in her new 60-minute one-woman Fringe Fest comedy show called "Flawed." The potty-mouthed 43-year-old wife, mother of 3 adopted children, and feminist attended the first annual Flawed awards and won in categories for flawed mother, wife, and feminist to name a few. The feisty Metis/Ukranian woman from Saskatoon strolled down memory lane when she spoke about losing weight (she used to be 400 pounds and lost 210!) and overeating, pride, her children, gambling, and being turned on by Anne Murray music among other things. Hayward told the audience that she couldn't sing, act, or dance and aimed to make hers "the worst Fringe show ever." One of her flawed moments was when she danced for 3 minutes and 51 seconds despite not having "any formal training" and invited the audience to join her. They did so at the end of her show. She was bold and raw as she talked about having had a gambling problem, cheating on her husband Josh during their 20-year marriage (they're still married), and having had borderline personality disorder in the past. She said that she was now a capitalist and wanted to be rich, so she could afford shopping at Whole Foods and buying lattes at Starbucks. A nice surpise was her 14-year-old daughter being behind the scenes and helping choose her mom's sexy outfit for her dominatrix scene. Author of Jesus Loves a Crazy Horny Feminist, Hayward has now appeared at Fringe 3 times with her "Jesus Loves a Crazy Horny Feminist, "Can't Argue With Pussy," and "Flawed" shows. A talented comedian, she also has developed motivational workshops suitable for groups and corporations where she talks about using humour in the workplace, leadership and mental health issues, and work/life balance. I have seen Jenn live twice now and was fortunate enough to speak with her after her excellent performance and told her that she was an inspiration to me in my personal weight loss journey. She acknowledged it is "a hard process" and that she couldn't have done it or had the gastric bypass surgery without weight loss counselling. "What's my end goal? Not to die," she said. Having done comedy on-and-off for 15 to 20 years, she said she keeps her comedy fresh because she has adapted. "I've lost weight and had to change my act. My kids got older... I write as things happen."