Is the general consensus really that women aren't funny?

Question

Or is Christopher Hitchens completely out of touch? See article and respond:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/01/hitchens200701

I was personally offended by this article, because Hitchens assumes the "male" brand of humor is the only sort of humor that is relevant. He insists that women cannot be funny because they don't like poop jokes (which, indeed, some women do!). He also claims that our culture does not value female humor, and men don't particularly appreciate in a mate. interesting, because, in my experience, funny men appreciate funny women, unfunny men don't.

What do you think? ARE men funnier than women? Why is this idea prevalant? Is the article sexist?

Ronnie--you're right, Sarah Silverman IS a dimwit, but there are male comedians every bit as terrible as her, such as Carlos Mencia.

Answer 1

I think anyone can be funny and anyone can not be funny. It has nothing to do with gender or race or age or anything else. There is only a gender divide in comedy because it has been a traditionally male dominated form of entertainment. The same percentage of female and male comedians are actually funny, the actual number is just lower because there are less women in comedy. I think as time goes on and the boys club demeanor of comedy is broken down we'll see a fairly equal divide of male and female comedians. And we'll see that women's sense of humor is just like men's, because we're all people and we find funny things funny.

Answer 2

Oh my god, that is so not true. The idea is prevalent because of the general notion that women aren't as good at men in anything. Bottom line...men may not find women funny because they just don't get it. Being funny requires a high degree of intelligence, and if the consensus by men is that women have no humour, I do believe that reflects badly on men's level of intellect. And scatalogical humour is in no way funny...most women get beyond that by age five. Read anything by professional female comedians, and you'll see why there aren't many high profile comediennes--the comedy circuit is sexist and oppressive towards women. Sarah Silverman is doing nothing more than pandering to a male audience and she makes me sick. Not funny. So no, men are not funnier than women--they just get more opportunities to ply their trade professionally.

Answer 3

One must, as you point out, first define "humor". There are many varieties and emotional motivations. For example, a highly worried population enjoys slapstick, slipping on a banana peel type humor. A more aggressive / violent population, such as prison and boys' schools populations, enjoys anal humor, the poop jokes and such. A highly verbally censoring and inhibited population enjoys oral humor. An insecure population enjoys sexist and racist humor. Adolescent populations enjoy sexual jokes. And so on. It depends upon who is dominating the entertainment industry at the time and the general mood of the society as to what flavor of humor is prominent. I have done some vulgar stand-up amateur comedy and won some money doing humor aimed at the realities and frustrations of single motherhood and its inherent poverty, stuff like that private moment of deliberation over what kind of vegetable to warm up in the microwave at night after the children are bathed and put to bed to use as a personal companion. : )

Answer 4

I think it's the result of not understanding that different people like different kinds of humor. Men tend to like slapstick and wisecracking while women are more drawn to doing characters and more absurd types of humor. It doesn't mean that someone is funny or not funny. One thing I've always wonder is why men like "The Three Stooges" so much while women don't.

Answer 5

They can be funny the way little children can be funny. As in all things it depends on the degree of funny though. I have never seen a female races among the worlds best top 10, or a female comedian who is right up there with the best, but that doesnt mean that a woman cant be train to get fast around a racing circuit or that she cant get some laughs, therell just be men who are funnier or faster.

Answer 6

Ever heard of Tina Fey? Phyllis Diller? Chelsea Handler? Ellen DeGeneres? All brilliantly funny. Humor is about seeing the ridiculousness in everything; women do that every bit as well as men.

Answer 7

There are tons of funny women. Carol Burnett, Madeline Kahn, Tina Fey, etc.

Hell, even the funniest character on Seinfeld was a woman.

Answer 8

There are a ton of female comedians in Canada who could take some famous male comedians to school.

Answer 9

to be genuinely funny, you need to be intelligent.

it is a simple fact that there are more very intelligent men than very intelligent women.

there are also more very stupid men than very stupid women.

women have two Y chromosomes which tend to average each other out. Men having only one Y, tend to possess the more extreme (good and bad) qualities of many scales, including many X-linked (genetic) diseases, but also many traits such as intelligence.

i suggest that the very funny comedians we see, are very intelligent people

Answer 10

In my opinion, a sense of humor involves TAKING RISKS not least of which is looking ridiculous. Women are much more acutely aware of their social standing and social pressures and will be much more reluctant to say or do the kinds of things that will make her lose her social status. Guys on the other hand simply don't care. How often do you see a bunch of guys in public making complete fools of themselves for the purpose of having a good time? What about girls?

As for why guys don't appreciate humor, well, what is more important? Having a stand-up comic in the house, or someone who you love, care for and cherish and who loves you right back. How shallow would one have to be to reject someone on the basis of how funny they are? Oh, wait women do this all the time. Silly me.