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A Scientific Case Against Rape Jokes
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I’ve been working on a project with Jono Zalay* on what makes things funny and why audiences laugh. We felt that what was lacking in this “rape joke” conversation is actual scientific evidence linking humor and the creation of rape culture. We (mostly me, but Jono helped out when he was awake) recently began an investigation into scientific studies regarding the impact of humor on rape culture, and were astonished to discover the wealth of literature supporting the notion that humor can be used to create social norms that justify prejudice. Not only is there a link between certain types of humor and rape culture, but it’s strong and supported by several independent research groups.
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It’s pretty well known that advertisers use humor as a persuasion device to convince consumers to buy their product. Why does this work? It’s believed by many psychologists that the human brain operates in two forms: serious mode and humor mode. In serious mode, our brain takes incongruous notions and tries to rationalize them critically and logically, trying to find an explanation to strange events, sort of like figuring out a Rubik’s cube or becoming a conspiracy theorist. However, in humor mode, our brain takes the “leap of faith” on incongruity and basically says “Ahhh… Screw it! This is fun!” We throw away the Rubik’s cube and go off frolicking in the meadow. Why are we in a meadow? Doesn’t matter. We’re in humor mode now.
The decision to make the switch from serious mode to humor mode occurs through a series of events. What those are is poorly understood by scientists who do this research (i.e. Jono and myself). Typically, all of those priming events are present at a comedy show, which leads us to tell our brain, “Ok, switch off. Let the yuk-yuks just flow on through.” Having our brain shut off isn’t normally a big deal for the comedians who are joking about how disgusting Hot Pockets are or how dumb and chubby their cousin is. In fact, it can work to a comedian’s benefit. Shifts in culture are often ascribed to comedians such as Bill Hicks or Lenny Bruce who, likely, were able to deliver cultural messages to audiences whose critical brains shut off to hear jokes. The use of humor essentially hypnotizes us to have our opinions “massaged” in one direction or another.
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One of the main arguments by comedians in this debate is the “it’s just a joke” argument. A study in 1990 showed that many people believed that when they told a joke that might be offensive, it did not reflect their attitudes towards a certain group; yet, when other people told offensive jokes, it reflected their attitudes towards that group. In essence, saying “it’s just a joke” allows comedians to de-commit from owning their opinion, and allows a person to hide their prejudices behind a “well-structured” joke.
For example, when a comedian makes an observation about a homeless man sleeping on a Central Park bench. Many comedians will likely make fun of the behavior of this man, calling him lazy, or making fun of his attire. The underlying message of his joke “homeless people are less than us”. Why not make fun of the rich people who pay millions of dollars to live around Central Park, while he gets to live in Central Park for free? As comedians, we have a choice about what we choose to laugh at. The point about this whole debate is let’s stop attacking victims, and start attacking oppressors.
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http://rajsivaraman.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/a-scientific-case-against-rape-jokes/
I’ve been working on a project with Jono Zalay* on what makes things funny and why audiences laugh. We felt that what was lacking in this “rape joke” conversation is actual scientific evidence linking humor and the creation of rape culture. We (mostly me, but Jono helped out when he was awake) recently began an investigation into scientific studies regarding the impact of humor on rape culture, and were astonished to discover the wealth of literature supporting the notion that humor can be used to create social norms that justify prejudice. Not only is there a link between certain types of humor and rape culture, but it’s strong and supported by several independent research groups.
...
It’s pretty well known that advertisers use humor as a persuasion device to convince consumers to buy their product. Why does this work? It’s believed by many psychologists that the human brain operates in two forms: serious mode and humor mode. In serious mode, our brain takes incongruous notions and tries to rationalize them critically and logically, trying to find an explanation to strange events, sort of like figuring out a Rubik’s cube or becoming a conspiracy theorist. However, in humor mode, our brain takes the “leap of faith” on incongruity and basically says “Ahhh… Screw it! This is fun!” We throw away the Rubik’s cube and go off frolicking in the meadow. Why are we in a meadow? Doesn’t matter. We’re in humor mode now.
The decision to make the switch from serious mode to humor mode occurs through a series of events. What those are is poorly understood by scientists who do this research (i.e. Jono and myself). Typically, all of those priming events are present at a comedy show, which leads us to tell our brain, “Ok, switch off. Let the yuk-yuks just flow on through.” Having our brain shut off isn’t normally a big deal for the comedians who are joking about how disgusting Hot Pockets are or how dumb and chubby their cousin is. In fact, it can work to a comedian’s benefit. Shifts in culture are often ascribed to comedians such as Bill Hicks or Lenny Bruce who, likely, were able to deliver cultural messages to audiences whose critical brains shut off to hear jokes. The use of humor essentially hypnotizes us to have our opinions “massaged” in one direction or another.
...
One of the main arguments by comedians in this debate is the “it’s just a joke” argument. A study in 1990 showed that many people believed that when they told a joke that might be offensive, it did not reflect their attitudes towards a certain group; yet, when other people told offensive jokes, it reflected their attitudes towards that group. In essence, saying “it’s just a joke” allows comedians to de-commit from owning their opinion, and allows a person to hide their prejudices behind a “well-structured” joke.
For example, when a comedian makes an observation about a homeless man sleeping on a Central Park bench. Many comedians will likely make fun of the behavior of this man, calling him lazy, or making fun of his attire. The underlying message of his joke “homeless people are less than us”. Why not make fun of the rich people who pay millions of dollars to live around Central Park, while he gets to live in Central Park for free? As comedians, we have a choice about what we choose to laugh at. The point about this whole debate is let’s stop attacking victims, and start attacking oppressors.
...
http://rajsivaraman.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/a-scientific-case-against-rape-jokes/
The thing I find heartbreaking about this is that the only reason rape jokes are considered socially acceptable is because misogyny is still not even a blip on most people's radar. It just doesn't even register the way most other bigotries do. It's so normalized, it's practically invisible.
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