Recently, while walking down State Street with my male friend, a man on the street approached us and asked my friend for a dollar. When he politely told the man no, the man looked at me, smirked and asked, “How about $0.85?” Mouth agape in disbelief, I turned the opposite direction and briskly walked away.
That comment has since lingered menacingly in my thoughts. It seems people have forgotten when a joke is appropriately theirs to make, if at all. People joke about their lived experiences, but what about others’? Is humor a universal coping mechanism, or is it simply an easy, unoriginal object of derision?
Many people disguise their own battles as humorous anecdotes, but it was odd to see someone so comfortably exercise sexism sandwiched with a smile. There are copious social issues – most notably sexism, homophobia and racism – that are used as common punchlines, encouraging a laugh rather than a solution. This trend has been on the rise in our society, and even more so in our generation.
The idea that these jokes make difficult conversations easier and can potentially be used to spread awareness is at the center of this epidemic. In reality, this is not the case for many of the identities that have supposedly become ‘okay’ to poke fun at. The American Psychological Association conducted a study in 2013 which found “[male] participants who were exposed to sexist jokes reported higher levels of rape proclivity.” It seems the intended audience for this material are not joking to come to terms with a lived experience. They are instead making mockery of it.
Activism is not the intent of these individuals; rather, it is to normalize and desensitize.
Western Carolina University’s social psychology professor, Thomas E. Ford, and his colleagues conducted a study on how people use humor to justify discrimination. In their research, they found that mindsets shifted to “promot[ing] discrimination against Muslims and gay men” after being exposed to harmful jokes against these social groups.
So, how do we talk about uncomfortable topics without defaulting to humor? These conversations are difficult; understandably, we want to ease the tension. However, to inspire real change we must redirect our approach.
An easy first step is to stop condoning harmful conversations. By laughing or participating, these behaviors continue. By staying silent, they worsen. Enabling isn’t strictly verbal; a small chuckle or a small smile may tell someone their joke was well-received rather than your intended awkward politeness. However, the issue is how to discern these jokes from ‘dark humor.’
Dark humor is a type of comedy which pulls from many of these harmful issues an individual may experience. Although it often brings discomfort to an unwilling audience, it is widely deemed acceptable. So, how do we know when our words are promoting destructive, regressive thoughts and behaviors?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Harmful jokes will continue to be somewhat ‘normalized,’ even if we discourage them. The next time you want to talk about a socially relevant topic, however, I encourage you to move away from doing so to squeeze a laugh out of someone.
Consider the impact of your words and continue to discuss with a straight face.
Maizy Auger is a sophomore studying journalism and mathematics. Do you agree that humor normalizes or even condones microaggressions? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
