Hello beauties, I’m back with a serious question for you all.
Have you ever been in a room full of friends, co-workers, or strangers, and then someone cracks a sexist joke?
Disclaimer: This post features a feminist discussion about sexist jokes for educational purposes, not to put anyone on the spot or to make men + women feel shitty for laughing at them. We’re here to push the boundaries of our cultural perspectives. Take off your sensitivity glasses and listen with an open mind.
“What’s a woman good for?”
*head shakes as the crowd silently waits*
“Doing as she’s told.”
Ladies, we’ve heard it all, am I right? Gentlemen, you’ve participated in this form of humor at some point or another. Sarcasm, even as an innocent gesture, is still rooted in sexism.
I know plenty of men who worship women and love everything about them: their minds, kindness, bodies, spirit, etc.. I’m with a man who puts respecting me at the forefront of his agenda.
And I too happen to find sexist humor funny (when it’s tasteful and well-timed).
Laughing at sexist jokes, however, still causes me to wonder about my feminism. So, I’ll ask again, am I still a feminist if I laugh at sexist jokes against women?
Everything is about context, of course. Don’t set up a joke about women being bad drivers when I’m in the middle of traffic because I will fucking turn this car off just to make a point (alright, point made).
I’m not sure if being half-in about when it’s appropriate to laugh at sexist jokes is the most feminist response. But I’m also realistic enough to call it as it is: men and women are different. And it’s funny to joke about it.
We laugh at sexist jokes against men too.
“What are two reasons why men don’t mind their own business?”
“1. No mind. 2. No business.”
When we take a stab at women, we say they shouldn’t bother with activities of the mind, they should “be in the kitchen,” or stay off the roads because they’re bad drivers; when we take a stab at men, we joke about their lack of intelligence (i.e. thinking with their dicks because they don’t have a brain).
I’m still a feminist if I laugh at sexist jokes because I have a good sense of whether or not the person telling the joke means what they say. Now, I will stop someone when I think they’ve crossed a line and tell them why. That’s the important piece in the puzzle.
But sometimes a good laugh reminds me not to see the world so seriously. In all of the social justice battles we fight, humor still has a place.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Respond to this email or DM on Instagram.
This week, instead of featuring a graphic designer, I’m sharing an article I wrote for Miss Marijuana. I’m very proud of this piece. Please take a moment to read it. Thank you, as always, to my lovely readers.