Liberated jokes: Sexual humor in all-female groups

Abstract

Females have formerly been under-represented in jokes. Many scholars have claimed that joke making is primarily a male activity, particularly in the domain of sexual jokes. In this paper, I discuss sexual jokes that women share with each other both in all-female groups and by e-mail. After reviewing some widely held assumptions about women and jokes, I explore liberated women's jokes, including their structure, use of stereotypes, and subversive ideas. Finally, I discuss why humor theory is incomplete without the inclusion of a female perspective and suggest that women should tell more jokes.

#Safetytipsforladies: Feminist Twitter Takedowns of Victim Blaming

“…Tweets using the hashtag were quickly generated and re-circulated, demonstrating how humor fuels the dissemination of feminist ideas via social media (see Bing 2007). Noting the speed with which the hashtag caught on, feminist bloggers commented on the absurdity of most anti-rape advice directed at women, emphasizing the need to "shift the focus to the ones doing the raping instead" (HarlotOverdrive 2013).…”

Assessing global diffusion with Web memetics: The spread and evolution of a popular joke

“…In a study of e-mail jokes shared between women, Bing (2007) argued that the Internet facilitates the diffusion of feminist jokes, often ridiculing men. In contrast, a study of popular Web jokes found that although men are often mocked in contemporary humor, traditional stereotypes of both genders still prevail.…”

Women Gossip and Men Brag: Perceived Gender Differences in the Use of Humor by Romanian Older Women

“…Studies that have investigated the use of humor in all-female groups challenge the idea that women do not appreciate sexual-themed humor, but rather value it just as much as men do, provided it is not aggressive and offensive to women (Bing, 2007). The fact that women do in fact engage in the production of humor on such topics is illustrated by the women who took part in the study.…”

“…A series of early studies proposed not only that women cannot produce humor at all (see Lakoff, cited in Bing, 2007, p. 340), but also that women do not use, produce, or reproduce humor on topics regarding sex and sexuality. These presumptions were contradicted by studies that indicate women, especially in all-women groups, do appreciate sexual-themed humor, as long as it is not aggressive towards women (see Bing, 2007). Lundell (1993) maintains that it is unlikely for women to appreciate humor on sexual topics that have a hostile or aggressive component, a type of sexual-themed humor created by men, for men; he concludes that women appreciate humor on topics related to sex and sexuality as much as men do, when it is not hostile towards women.…”