Cracking wise to break the ice: The potential for racial humor to ease interracial anxiety

Abstract

We explore the idea that humor focused on social group disparities can be a viable tool to reduce some of the negative outcomes associated with interracial interactions. These interactions are crucial in promoting common understanding about the causes of social, educational, and economic disparities and crafting solutions to redress them. However, investigations have demonstrated that interracial interactions can be emotionally and cognitively taxing, and for these reasons are often avoided. When not avoided, these interactions often result in negative outcomes. Anxiety has been identified as a key factor in these outcomes as majority group members cope with concerns over appearing biased and minority group members cope with concerns over being discriminated against. Humor may be able to alleviate anxiety that contributes to negative outcomes associated with intergroup dialogue. To explore this claim, we first review the literature on interracial interactions and the role of anxiety in shaping them. We then discuss investigations exploring the impact of group-related humor, specifically disparagement humor, on intergroup perceptions. Finally, we draw from both literatures to consider factors that might determine race-related humor’s potential to facilitate positive interracial dialogue through anxiety reduction. We conclude with some possible areas for further research.

Black students' experiences of “acceptable” racism at a UK university

“…What is particularly pernicious is that this joke relies on a shared knowledge of slavery and it invites other White students present to share in both the “othering” and the humiliation of the only Black guy in the group. Both using and being exposed to such humour have been shown to increase the likelihood of the expression of prejudice in the humorous context (Borgella, Howard, & Maddox, 2019; Ford & Ferguson, 2004). This normalisation of disparagement humour is in part achieved because it is difficult to challenge without running the risk of being labelled sensitive or unable to take a joke.…”

Mitigating Identity-Related Anxiety through Humor and Immersive Storytelling with 360-Degree Video in Virtual Reality: A Study on Microaggressions’ Mental Health Effects

“…Some researchers proposed the concept of humor serving as a stress buffer, implying that individuals equipped with a robust sense of humor might be less prone to distress during stressful situations [ 12 ]. Other scholars explored this further, examining humor’s role in tempering anxiety derived from racial microaggressions [ 13 ]. They found that individuals capable of reinterpreting microaggressions in a humorous light reported reduced anxiety and distress.…”

Humour and belonging

“…A recent report by Borgella et al (2020: 114-115) finds that "the literature exploring humour in intergroup contexts has focused almost exclusively on humour that targets a person or persons based on their membership in a social group". This is often referred to as disparagement humour (Ford & Ferguson 2004) that maligns a group at the social level (Cundall 2012), whether playfully or maliciously (Borgella et al 2020, after Janes & Olson 2010. Disparagement humour is usefully defined as "communication that is intended to elicit amusement through the denigration, derogation, or belittlement of a given target" (Ford 2015; see also Zillmann 1983).…”