How many times have we heard the phrase – oh it’s just a joke – to explain away something that is offensive, disrespectful, denigrating? How often are we told to lighten up; because everyone should learn to laugh at themselves? I agree with this. We all do need to lighten up and we do need to laugh at ourselves; take ourselves less seriously. Jokes can be astute observations, can be an ice breaker, they are social satire, they relieve stress – they have many vital functions in society. So then it follows that are all jokes OK? Well not quite. There are certain types of jokes that are just not funny, for any or all of these reasons:
When a joke comes from a space of hostility it is problematic. Many jokes about women tend to be hostile and belittling. A study showed that hostile jokes produced aggressive catharsis and a feeling of superiority. All of the ‘jokes’ in this image are quite simply revolting. They are nothing but vehicles for hate; an attempt to legitimise that hate by calling it a joke.
This is the sort of joke we receive everyday on WhatsApp; we are supposed to have a little chuckle and forget about it. But examine what this ‘joke’ conveys: that the husband is a hardworking person while his wife is a sort of freeloader. Not only does this fail to acknowledge the unpaid labour of the homemaker and the many things women do and are not paid for, it also casts the man in the victim mould. It perpetuates thefalse and misleading stereotype of a woman as an acqusitive, avaricious, manipulative and unfeeling person.
This ‘joke’ is the very definition of Islamophobia; at it serves to normalise hate. Something like this can only emanate from someone who hates, fears and has some very strong prejudices against certain groups. A ‘joke’ like this is not funny, it is not clever. It can be ‘funny’ only to those who harbor some of that hate and fear themselves.
Sample this: 1/3 of women are physically abused. 2/3 men aren’t doing their job. This is horrifying – that someone thinks about physical assault of any type, in this case against women as funny. The picture is one of so called ‘rape jokes’; where using a sedative to sexually assault a woman is supposed to be funny. The problem is twofold: these ‘jokes’ shame and silence victims. They also give predators and would be predators the idea that sexual violence is acceptable and funny.
There are holocaust jokes such as these. There are jokes about poor people. There are jokes about slavery. These are quite simply hideous. Also hideous are those jokes that are made about older people or people with disabilities. Because something is only funny if it is self deprecating or if it has the courage to criticise and speak the truth to authority! It is neither brave nor intelligent, nor funny to make ‘jokes’ about the underprivileged, the disenfranchised and the persecuted sections of society.
They make ‘jokes’ about someone's bereavement. They make ‘jokes’ about a tragedy or an accident. Simply not funny! And saying ‘just kidding’ doesn’t detract from the fact that a joke is disparaging, designed to hurt or denigrate – it merely betrays what you really believe. Why not tell jokes that are intelligent, original and depend upon astute observation rather than stereotypes? A good joke is entertaining and a way for people to find common ground – or at least it should be.
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