Women in Humor Synthesis

Synthesis Final Draft

The article “Humor, Intellect, and Femininity” by Nancy Walker published in 1998, explains through many examples how women were perceived to be inferior to men when it came to a sense of humor and that they lacked the intelligence required to posses a sense of humor. Throughout the article there are numerous references to how women were treated in the past when it came to humor and joke telling. “So pervasive was the idea that women were incapable of humor…” (Walker, 74) states one paragraph. There are many jokes that were written and told by women, but were claimed to be told by men instead, since it was an absurdity that women were capable of such a thing. There are many instances where women became the butt of jokes. The very thought of women telling jokes placed them instantly in to the role of the butt. In Susan Purdies article called “The Butt,” this position in jokes is further explained. The butt refers to the person, race, religion, or thing that the joke is being told about. In other words, the “object” is being “degraded,” and cut off from the joke teller and the audience. The position of the butt is a very difficult one, as they are never able to recover from that burden. “Usually denied discursive agency” (Walker, 23) they are left out of the conversation (joke) and never given a chance to speak up for themselves. If they do try to retaliate to the joke teller or about the joke teller, it is futile as they are already in a position of inferiority. “What is degrading emphasizes the victim’s ineffectiveness” (Walker, 62) this again goes

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back to Nancy Walker’s article. Women were always considered ineffective in humor, when in fact that wasn’t really the case. The issue pointed out by Walker was “Instead of lacking a sense of humor, women have lacked opportunities for free expression of that sense…’ (Walker, 86).

After reading Arthur Berger’s article “The Telephone Pole With the Braided Armpits; Ethnic and Racial Jokes and American Society,” It is evident that different races, religions, and ethnic groups are also the butt of many jokes. Again, they are considered to be degraded and inferior. “When it comes to techniques we find that insult, ridicule, intimidation, use of dialect, revelation of ignorance, mistakes, and stereotyping tend to be dominant” ( Berger, 60). While this article is referring to a whole different group of “butts”, the same thing again ties them all together. Throughout all three articles (Berger, Purdie, and Walker), the butt is always being cast as ineffective, ignorant, and futile.

Between Berger’s and Walker’s articles, there are a few cases when women, religion, racial, and ethnics groups are given some merit. The butt seems to be lifted somewhat during a few examples. On page 66 of Berger’s article, there is a paragraph that says “….ethnic, religious, and racial groups have become “in” and now focus on maintaining their identity”. Then in Walker’s piece it says “Circumstances under which woman’s humor is permissible tend to be those in which women are in groups composed only of women”. (Walker, 85) Unfortunately, it seems the only time these groups are given any merit and are not the butt of jokes seem to be when they are