Sexual Humor Research Articles

Sexual Humor in Dickens' Works

This paper attempts to investigate a sexual selection-based argument about the significance of humor in courtship. The huge range of Dickensian sexual humor suggests that the extroversion of female characters is associated with their inferior position. Females were formerly under-represented in producing humor. Jokes and humorous acts were primarily associated with males, particularly in the domain of sexual humor. Dickens’ use of sexual humor is evidence for the critic and becomes a valuable tool for revealing gender stereotypes in the 19

Comic Memes and Sexist Humor in India: Tools for Reinforcement of Female Body-Image Stereotypes

Memes have been described as communicative and aesthetic practices that serve cultural, social, political purposes on a digital platform. Several studies, in the last decade, have attempted to study this digital aesthetic knowledge production as a powerful tool for political, racial, and gender-related discourses. Most often this knowledge is produced through comic multi-media texts. Many theorists believe that, digital media reinforces inequality, marginalization and such other social issues through the audio-visual-textual medium as much as it establishes the counter-discourses for equality, body activism, racial activism and the like. Speed and lack of censorship can be the cardinal reasons for the popularity of these memes. Among the mass-influencing gender-related memes are those encouraging fat-talk and body-image stereotypes. In the Indian context, ‘Tag a Friend’ memes is one such widely circulated meme which communicates body-shaming messages through sexist humor. It mainly targets the fat/colored/transgender women. The current study examines these memes using multimodal discourse analysis methodology. The paper attempts to investigate the revival/reproduction potential of color-shaming and body-shaming stereotypes via comic memes through Shiffman’s memetic dimensions. The analysis establishes that memes can be a prominent site for the re-production of the problematic ideology of body/color shaming even in the 21st century.

Amusing Abusers and Humourless Survivors: Analysing the Role of Comedy in Media Representations of Sexual Violence

This article reflects on the importance of comedy when considering media engagements with sexual abuse themes. This approach is informed by how closely the study of humour is rooted in the analysis of power relations, with comic theorists, both historical and contemporary, grounding the work.The comic figures of both the child sex (CS) abuser and the sexual violence survivor are first identified, before exploring what exactly about these tropes evoke laughter, and what this means for wider conceptions of interpersonal abuse and victimology.
 In analysing examples of CS abuser themed British and American comedy, animated adult comedies such as Family Guy (1999-present) and Monkey Dust (2003-2005) are considered in the context of early 2000s anxieties towards the suburban dirty old man and online child safety. In the case of the sexual violence survivor, Saturday Night Live’s 1993 ‘Is It Date Rape?’ sketch is considered within the context of 1990s anxieties regarding feminist campus politics, and is paralleled to the mid-2010s media panic surrounding British and American university students and trigger warnings through examples including The Simpson’s 2017 ‘Caper Chase’ episode and early to mid-2010s online academic polemics on the humourless feminist, such as Mark Fisher’s ‘Exiting The Vampire Castle’ (2013) and Jack Halberstam’s ‘You are Triggering Me!’ (2014). The article concludes by considering the changing consensuses for sexual violence themed humour in the Me Too era through the 2018 episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-present) ‘Times Up For The Gang.’

The Beard as Spectacle and Scandal in a Thirteenth-century Hebrew Maqāma

Abstract The Eighth Maqāma by Yaʿacov ben Elʿazar (Toledo, ca. 1200) tells the story of ʿAkhbor, a bearded beggar-preacher who is revealed to be rich and lecherous. His sexual preference for a black maid leads his four white/Arab maids to murder him viciously, but not before taking revenge on his beard. In fact, the most notable feature of the false preacher is his gargantuan beard, which occupies a full one-third of the maqāma, and other beards are also excessively described. Following Robert Bartlett, I will relate to the beard as “social text” and explore its abundant symbolical meanings within the surrounding cultures of Islam and Judaism, as well as against the backdrop of Iberian contemporary society. Further, in order to better understand Ben Elʿazar’s manipulation of both the beard and the genre, as well as his emphasis on sexual, anal and scatological humor, I will have recourse to Mikhail Bakhtin’s theoretical discussions of “the grotesque body,” “the carnivalesque,” and to his generic model of the Mennipea.

Criseyde, Consent, and the #MeToo Reader

Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde features prankish sexual humour wrapped into a romantic comedy love-plot, in which sexual misconduct is coded as harmless fun. Generations of readers have interpreted book three’s consummation scene as a delightfully humorous, entertaining escapade. But in order for the episode to be interpreted as comedic, the reader must be willing to accept certain premises about gender norms and sexual violence. The cultural misconception of rape as an attack perpetrated by a stranger as well as social norms giving license to male aggression with “certain kinds” of women have resulted in benign interpretations of the sexual encounter in book three. Our students, the #MeToo readers of the 2020s, will be attuned to the assumptions of rape culture expressed in Troilus and Criseyde. The #MeToo movement offers instructors a contemporary repertoire of narratives for discussing gender biases of past and present and for considering how the persistence of those biases fueled a cultural reckoning in 2018.

Dirty Jokes and Bawdy Songs: The Uncensored Life of Gershon Legman

Dirty Jokes and Bawdy Songs: The Uncensored Life of Gershon Legman

Individual differences in the appreciation and interpretation of subversive humor against sexism versus sexist humor: The role of feminist identity and hostile sexism

In two studies, we analyzed the differences in the appreciation (i.e., funniness and aversiveness) and interpretation (i.e., criticism of sexism and woman and man disparagement) of subversive humor against sexism compared to sexist humor. In Study 1 (n = 202), we used a confirmatory factor analysis to verify the independence of subversive humor and sexist humor. The pattern of relations between feminist identity and the appreciation and interpretation of subversive humor against sexism was the opposite to that found between feminist identity and the appreciation and interpretation of sexist humor. The same happened with the relations between hostile sexism and subversive humor vs. sexist humor. In Study 2 (n = 169), we experimentally manipulated the type of humor. The pattern of interactions between type of humor and feminist identity was the opposite to that found between type of humor and hostile sexism. Both studies revealed that the appreciation of subversive humor was higher in more feminist participants but the appreciation of sexist humor was higher in more sexist participants. Participants with the highest levels of feminist identity and the lowest levels of hostile sexism perceived the greatest criticism of sexism in subversive humor and the highest woman disparagement in sexist humor.

#ImNotAChickFlick: Neoliberalism and Post-feminism inVeere Di Wedding (My Friend’s Wedding, 2018)

Released in 2018, Shashanka Ghosh’s Veere Di Wedding ( VDW; My Friend’s Wedding), dubbed as India’s answer to Sex and the City, evoked mixed responses. While many reviews of the film denounced it for its vulgarity and tawdriness, frivolity, flippant vision of women’s liberation and as a threat to Indian values, others, however, celebrated it for its frank depiction of female desires. This article undertakes a close study of the film to argue that while the focus on female desire and sexuality is rare in Hindi cinema, and thus VDW marks an important landmark, the film is not a feminist film, and it does not offer a radical politics of female solidarity. On the contrary, by locating it within its neoliberal and postfeminist politics and aesthetics, we will argue that it haphazardly borrows and superimposes tropes from the ‘bromance’ and ‘the buddy road movie’ genres onto its vision of what feminine choices entail and enable. Its casual evocation of elite lifestyles, denigration of working-class women’s life struggles, and sexual humour jeopardise a radical reworking of patriarchal and heteronormative frameworks, and it encourages us to settle for a future in which ‘women playing the same games as men do’ is the only mode of radicalism or emancipation on offer. While it is undeniably refreshing to watch the film’s push back against the repressive taboos surrounding women’s sexuality and desire, these are articulated only within neoliberal renditions of heterosexuality, matrimony, motherhood and consumerism.

Is it sexy to be sexist? How stereotyped humor affects romantic attraction

AbstractSexist humor is a common form of disparagement humor that is nonetheless understudied in romantic attraction contexts. Three experiments investigated how sexist humor is perceived and received during relationship initiation. In Study 1 (n = 262) participants rated self‐directed sexist humor as more affiliative (only women), less aggressive, and more self‐defeating than other‐directed sexist humor. Study 2 (n = 209) replicated these findings and found that women romantically preferred men who used self‐ rather than other‐directed sexist humor, an effect mediated by perceived warmth. Self‐directed sexist humor's attractiveness advantage persisted in Study 3 (n = 667), which also included manipulations of self‐disparaging, group‐disparaging, and benign humor. Results suggest a romantic cost for men telling sexist jokes that disparage women.

Fear, anger, and desire: Affect and the interactional intricacies of rape humor on a live podcast

AbstractAggressive, sexist humor is often understood as expressions of inner, misogynist attitudes. This article, however, investigates rape humor as a collective and interactive phenomenon. Drawing on an infamous Swedish podcast episode, we illuminate rape humor in terms of affect, desire, and repression (Butler 1987; Billig 1999), and as such, how taboo-breaking arouses both pleasure and fear among the participants. The analyses detail affective practices that both promote and discipline affects. The men in the group interpellate one of the participants as a clown, someone whose taboo-breaking they interactionally support and simultaneously distance themselves from. The article concludes that affects, like subject positions, are interpellated in interaction. Building on Wetherell's (2013) understanding of affect as both discursive and embodied, we suggest a reintroduction of repression/desire into a discursively oriented framework. (Affective practices, rape humor, desire, repression, taboo, misogynist masculinity, podcast)*

The Comedy of Survivance in James Welch's Fools Crow

ABSTRACT Fools Crow (1986), by James Welch (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre), may seem an unlikely site of humor given that it is concerned with the tragic history of the Pikuni band of Montana Blackfeet in the nineteenth century. However, Welch foregrounds Native humor traditions central to the Blackfeet culture. This article analyzes the ways humor punctuates the narrative, taking the form of teasing sexual humor—familiar as adolescent discourse—and corrective humor that is intended to guide individuals to find their identities within the community. In highlighting Native belief systems that rely on mythical/mystical figures such as the trickster Raven, the novel is both a form of bildungsroman and an alternate history, which, although often tragic, never loses sight of the restorative aspect of humor in the quest for survival and a new future.

Gender differences in humor-related traits, humor appreciation, production, comprehension, (neural) responses, use, and correlates: A systematic review

All available peer-reviewed literature on humor and gender differences (1977–2018) was screened and evaluated according to a priori defined QUALSYST criteria. The 77 papers surpassing a conservative quality criterion generated seven emergent themes around humor and gender differences. In short, men score higher in the aggressive humor style (M > F), while no other gender differences were consistently reported in humor-related traits (M = F). In the prediction of negative outcomes (stress, loneliness, depression), differential effects for humor in both genders are reported, but not consistently (M ≠ F). Gender differences exist for the appreciation of sexual humor (M > F), even in mixed target stimuli, and hostile humor (both genders appreciate opposite gender target stimuli more). Gender differences are absent in nonsense and neutral humor (M = F). For humor production, three samples showed no gender differences (M = F), while three samples suggested men are funnier (M > F) and one that women are funnier (M < F). No studies reporting differences in humor comprehension were identified (M = F). For humor use and communication, gender differences were found across methods (M ≠ F), yet, they depend on the context (e.g., workplace) and may thus resemble gender roles rather than “natural differences”. Moreover, few studies provide hard data on actual humor use and communication in different domains. When exposed to humor stimuli, different neural responses of men and women in prefrontal cortex activations (or selected parts) were found (M ≠ F). Also, self-report data suggest that both genders value a sense of humor in their partner (M = F), yet women typically value the humor production abilities more than humor receptivity, while for men, the woman’s receptivity of their own humor is more important than a woman’s humor production abilities, in line with gender stereotypes (M ≠ F). To conclude, much progress has been achieved in the past 15 years to overcome methodological flaws in early works on humor and gender differences. Importantly, attention should be paid to disentangling actual gender differences from gender role expectations and gender stereotypes. Methodologically, designs need to be checked for potential bias (i.e. self-reports may accentuate roles and stereotypes) and more hard data is needed to substantiate claims from self-report studies.

Don’t laugh it off: Gender differences in perceptions of women’s responses to men’s use of sexist humor

AbstractAcross two studies, we examined how the reaction of a woman who was targeted by potentially disparaging sexist jokes by a male joke-teller affected men’s and women’s perceptions of the jokes, the woman who was told the jokes, and the male joke-teller. Participants viewed videos in which a man told sexist jokes to a woman who responded with amusement, offense, ambiguity, or nonverbal disapproval. We found that the woman’s reaction to the sexist humor affected the perceptions of both the male joke-teller and the woman. Our results suggest that expressing nonverbal disapproval may be an effective way to produce negative perceptions of a man telling sexist jokes (Study 1) and may increase positive perceptions of a woman who confronts them (Study 2). Further, expressing verbal offense may be an increasingly acceptable way of confronting sexist jokes, perhaps due to recent cultural shifts in perceptions of confronting sexism more generally (Study 2). Our findings offer reason to be optimistic about changing norms with regard to confronting sexist humor.

What’s in a Tweet? Gender and sexism moderate reactions to antifat sexist humor on Twitter

AbstractThe present study investigated whether antifat sexist humor (compared to antifat sexist statements or control statements), conveyed via Tweets, would impact perceptions of an overweight female target depicted in a workplace harassment scenario. We examined whether gender, antifat attitudes, and sexism would impact joke perceptions and moderate perceptions of the joke-relevant target. Participants (n = 451) were drawn from MTurk and completed the study online. They were randomly exposed to one of three tweet conditions and then read and responded to the harassment vignette, among filler vignettes, before completing sexism and antifat measures. Antifat attitudes unexpectedly shifted as a function of study prime and were thus not considered as a moderator. Results showed that men high in hostile sexism reported a greater likelihood of retweeting/favoriting antifat sexist jokes than men low on hostile sexism or women high in hostile sexism. Individuals high in hostile sexism in the joke condition found the behavior of the target less appropriate, and the behavior of the ostensible perpetrator more appropriate, than those in the control condition and those low on hostile sexism. Similar findings were obtained for benevolent sexism. Findings underscore the power of social media as a vehicle for disparagement humor and its consequences.

“To the moon, Alice”: Cavalier humor beliefs and women's reactions to aggressive and belittling sexist jokes

Why do some women enjoy and internalize sexist jokes, whereas others express sharp disapproval? To answer this question, we explored the role of cavalier humor beliefs (jokes are fun and harmless, or “just jokes”), in addition to known predictors such as social dominance orientation and hostile sexism. In Experiment 1, women (N = 225) reported their amusement and offensiveness in response to three types of jokes: aggressive sexist jokes, belittling sexist jokes, and neutral jokes. Cavalier humor beliefs predicted higher amusement and lower offensiveness ratings for all jokes (including neutral), but more strongly predicted lower offensiveness ratings for the aggressive and belittling sexist jokes, suggesting that these beliefs might be highjacked by those who mask prejudiced intentions. In contrast, social dominance orientation and hostile sexism were each associated with favorable reactions to sexist but not neutral jokes. In Experiment 2, we explored the role of cavalier humor beliefs (and hostile sexism) in women's (N = 226) acceptance of sexist jokes, and subsequent release of bias against women following sexist joke exposure. Overall, exposure to aggressive (vs. neutral) jokes led women to rate the jokes as unfunny and offensive, but these objections were dampened among women higher in cavalier humor beliefs, even after controlling for hostile sexism. Critically, among women higher in cavalier humor beliefs, aggressive joke exposure facilitated acceptance of discrimination against women, even when accounting for hostile sexism. Thus, cavalier humor beliefs perpetuate sexism among women, whose ingroup is targeted by sexist humor. Implications for Prejudiced Norm Theory are discussed.

Is it really just a joke? Gender differences in perceptions of sexist humor

AbstractBenign violation theory suggests humor mocking normative values is funny if the humor is non-threatening. Research suggests sexism toward women (versus men) is particularly threatening due to inequalities in social power. In Study 1, we examined whether men and women differ in how amused and offended they were by sexist humor. We predicted men would perceive sexist humor as more funny and less offensive than women would. In Study 2, we examined whether perceptions of threat were related to perceptions of sexist jokes. We predicted women would perceive more threat than men from sexist humor, which would lead to lower amusement and greater perceived offensiveness. Across both studies, jokes targeting women were perceived to be less funny, more offensive, and more sexist than jokes targeting men. Additionally, greater perceptions of threat were related to greater perceptions of jokes as offensive and sexist. However, women were not more threatened than men by sexist jokes. While these findings were not entirely consistent with our hypotheses, our findings suggest disparagement humor targeting lower-status groups is perceived more negatively than disparagement humor targeting higher-status groups and these perceptions may be inextricably rooted in threat posed to lower-status groups.

Sexist Humor and Sexual Aggression Against Women: When Sexist Men Act According to Their Own Values or Social Pressures.

Exposure to sexist humor creates a context in which some men feel comfortable expressing aggressive tendencies toward women (i.e., self-reported rape proclivity). This is in part because this type of humor makes it easier for men who have antagonistic attitudes toward women to express their prejudice without fear of social reprisal. Besides, previous research has demonstrated the influence of motivational variables such as autonomy (initiation or regulation of intentional behavior based on free choice) and control (acting under external pressure) on aggression. We conducted two experiments to explore the hypothetical influence of priming autonomy and control motivations on the relation between sexist humor and the expression of sexually aggressive tendencies toward women. Study 1 (N = 108) revealed that control-primed men with high (vs. low) scores in hostile sexism reported a higher rape proclivity when exposed to sexist (vs. neutral) humor. These results were partially replicated in Study 2 (N = 132), assessing the accessibility of aggressive sexual thoughts. This research contributes to our understanding of the influence of sexist humor and motivational orientations in sexist men on the expression of aggressive sexual behaviors directed against women.

Сексуальність і гумор у Давньому Римі: переосмислення та нові варіації

У статті досліджується роль і місце сексуального гумору в житті Давнього Риму. На основі аналізу візуальних і писемних джерел було з’ясовано ставлення римлян до сміху та його вплив на формування суспільної думки. Прослідковано особливості сюжетного ряду та персоналії давньоримського сексуального гумору. Визначено головні функції, які виконували еротичні жарти: від релігійної до політичної. Це дозволило відкрити новий погляд на проблему та виявити взаємодію між гендерною ідентичністю та соціальним ступенем.

Nature and Perception of Sexist Humor at Great Zimbabwe University

For the majority of women, university represents a time of hopefulness and opportunities such that gendered incidences questioning their academic merit poses a serious setback. Sexist humor is one such incident which communicates a message that females are irrelevant and insignificant. This article discusses the nature and perceptions of sexist humor on University campuses. The views on how students on campus perceive sexist humor are crucial for understanding students’ response and offer a clear understanding of what justifies and normalizes sexist humor. The paper analyzes how the use of language can be connected to sexism and violence. Using a mixed methodology for data collection at Great Zimbabwe University, the paper attempts to link language, sexual violence, misogyny, and sexism as well as chronicle the overall pattern of exclusion and marginalization of women in higher education settings. The findings of the paper present evidence that the institutional and intellectual cultures of educational institutions are permeated with sexual and gender dynamics that have become embedded and naturalized in popular thought. Normalization of verbal harassment contributes to muting victimized women, thus perpetuating a culture in which violence against women becomes part of the social milieu. Thus, this study concludes that while one may consider higher education institutions in Africa as safer spaces for women, these are highly contested terrains as misogyny through sexist humor, among other hindrances, has created an obstacle for women’s equal participation in higher education.

Sociolinguistics Inquiry on the Humor Production of Tagalog Tertiary Students

The present quantitative-qualitative study utilized the dynamic sociological approach to analyze and describe how humor is gendered among 240 (equal distribution of male, female, gay and lesbian) middle-class Tagalog university students, ages 18 to 25. The 240 participants answered the Humor Production Sheet. Thirty-two participants (equal gender distribution), from the original 240 participants, also worked on a 21-day humor journal. The participants’ humor scripts were described, compared, and contrasted among genders to illustrate how humor as a discourse mode enables individuals to celebrate their values, perspectives and multi-faceted experiences inclusive of their societal, cultural, and personal roles. The researchers also developed a framework for analyzing humor types. Results show that, of the 449 humor scripts produced, positive humor was the most prevalent. Aggressive, self-defeating, sexual and sexist humor followed. Participants did not produce ethnic or national humor type. The researchers concluded with some implications to gender and development as well as curriculum development.