Sexist and other discriminatory disparaging humor takes a code for granted: its funniness relies on people recognizing the stereotypes that are the basis for the joke. It asks us to not take discriminatory stereotyping seriously. Thatās not going to take the sting out of it. Ford and Ferguson concluded that jokes donāt create hostility to the outgroup where it doesnāt already exist. But the evidence, they said, showed that joking reinforces existing prejudice. If you joke about women and get away with it, those who are hostile to women will see this as social sanction for their views and behavior. The joke tellers donāt themselves have to be actively misogynist to end up encouraging others to be.
Ā» āJustā Joking? Sexist Talk in Science (via brutereason)















