Do Sexist Jokes Make Us Sexist?

Unfortunately, stand-up comedy is not always fun and games. We live in a world of increasing sensitivity and it is nearly impossible to make a public statement today without offending someone in the crowd. Some of the most highly discussed topics in stand-up humor are race and gender, yet they are also some of the most personally sensitive subjects. Therefore, I think it is important to address whether or not it is possible to make a joke with a race or gender reference and not consider the joke to be racist or sexist.

I would like to start with a discussion of a comedian who I have only recently become to appreciate, despite his television show already being in its third season making me somewhat behind the curve, Daniel Tosh. Many of Tosh's jokes contain racial references, but his most significantly low brow humor involves sexual references and can easily be construed as sexist.

It might be somewhat premature to include a gender joke before concluding whether or not inclusion of the joke makes me, or the joke teller inherently sexist, but I think it lays out a helpful context for the discussion.

This is the most blatant example of a gender biased joke I could find. When listening to the joke, I did in fact catch myself laughing, yet I recognize that I do not agree with the message and consider women to be on the same playing field as men. Even more amazingly, Daniel Tosh himself is quoted as saying," “I’m not a misogynistic and racist person... But I do find those jokes funny, so I say them” (Full Quote Here). So how do I reconcile this obvious problem, I laugh at a joke with sexist undertones but disagree with what is being said. This is where I think the important distinction needs to be made on this type of humor. I believe that we can recognize humor in another individual's point of view without agreeing with that perspective.

But what exactly are we laughing at? Is it the ridiculousness of the claims being made? I do not think that this entirely explains the humor. Maybe we are laughing at the recognition of how controversial the claim is and we sadistically enjoy knowing that there is a group of people that are somewhat offended by the humor. Perhaps instead we laugh mostly at the delivery of the joke and the conviction with which the comedian makes these incredulous assertions. I personally believe that it is a combination of these things and possibly a few others. However, I hope that of all of the reasons for which I find humor in this somewhat bigoted joke, none of those reasons include a personal agreement with the statements conveyed. I consider myself to be a strong proponent of sexual equality and I would like to believe that laughing at this humor does not actually make me sexist. However, maybe this is just wishful thinking...

The (Un-)Selfishness of Stand-up

Comedy is a topic in which it the motives of the comedian can sometimes be a little hazy. It is a career that is almost inherently based on likability, success is measured by one's social prowess, the ability to make others laugh. So does this mean that comedy is a popularity contest? Maybe so, but does that mean that a successful comedian is selfish? I would say not.

Fortunately, this discussion is made approachable because comedy, unlike maybe other careers such as finance, poetry, or science, is something that everyone has likely dabbled in. Therefore, situations that comedians experience as part of their jobs can be related to almost anyone. For example, few have stood on stage and performed for a seated crowd, but most have delivered a joke to a group of buddies thats sent the whole crew into a laughing spree. I think most would agree that it feels pretty damn good to make a comment that our peers find uproariously funny  So how do we categorize the emotions we feel after making such a well received one-liner? I can only speak for myself but personally I think that telling a joke is in a way a win-win situation. The crowd has just been provided a period of joy and a temporary feeling of lightheartedness. Meanwhile, the "comedian" enjoys knowing that he/she has received the acceptance of his/her peers. However, I feel that a professional stand-up comedian feels more than just this sense of approval. Moreover, the comedian maintains a sense of pleasure in his performance, much like that of any self-respecting worker who takes pride in his work. A comedian recognizes a well received joke as an indication of his own skill, similar to how a teacher feels when a student demonstrates significant improvement after a semester's worth of input and education. Any individual hopes to be good at what he/she does and a desire to succeed at one's own profession is hardly selfish.

Now I think this conclusion can be returned from the framing of a professional comedian back to an individual in the presence of peers. We all pride ourselves in how we behave amongst friends and making a funny joke reflects on our social skills. In this way, I think we can distinguish comedy and telling a successful joke from something that I would consider to be more narcissistic, such as a talent show, in which the sole mission is to be liked or even praised, and very few skills are being employed by the contestants, other than maybe the skill of looking good in a swimsuit. Social aptitude is an expertise that each of us builds upon every single day, and affirmations in our own social abilities, should be approached not hedonistically but rather as a representation of our own self-improvement. And based on the current societal direction of continually making interactions less personal, I think any means of promoting social communication, especially that of mutually beneficial humor, should be heavily praised and hardly discouraged.