Archive 7: Sexual Humor
Name: Anne
Username: adalke@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Joking About Sex--The Language of Humor
Date: 2002-09-15 13:26:28
Message Id: 2695
Comments:
Another way to contribute to the forum this week? Post a joke about sex. Then let's see if we can figure out what makes it so funny (or not): what insecurities it points to, what securities it tries to destabilize...?
Name: Deborah
Username: dsosower@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sex and Language and Sex Joke
Date: 2002-09-17 10:54:10
Message Id: 2716
Comments:
I just wanted to quickly say that I think it's a biolical imperative to have language between people, our brains and learning patterns have specific and complex systems for language developement. I also think that sex is one of the more thought-about subjects of our species. Put the two together...there you go.
My joke is: Q: What are the 3 words you dread to hear most when you're having sex?
A: "Honey, I'm home" !
Name: 2002 TS student
Username: 2002 TS student
Subject: Jokes.
Date: 2002-09-17 19:58:55
Message Id: 2737
Comments:
as a disclaimer. i do not find all the jokes on this website amusing. but it has a few good ones. please do not judge my charachter as a result of this post. Dykesworld: Jokes
Name: Sarah H.
Username: shesson@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Tiefer's Article
Date: 2002-09-19 00:23:59
Message Id: 2764
Comments:
This third article fascinated me most of these 3 on humor. She seems to cover such a broad range of topics in regard to feminism -how humor is useful to the women's movement, how people view feminists (as humorless), what is contructive or non-constructive man-hating, and the many ways in which women have been oppressed -humor included. Weisstein's quote "when people tell us we've lost our sense of humor...[i]t means that we may actually be changing our social roles, that we have stopped trying to please." rung true for me especially in the context of how others see feminism, and how it threatens our society. Society in general talks about feminists as butch, pushy, aggressive, "man-haters," but what these sterotypes seem to emerge from is the fear of disruption of historically accepted social patterns here pointed out. THe confusion, as she also points out, is uncomfortable -there is tension btwn. the sexes over changing roles. Humor not only strengthens the movement but it also dispels the gravity of such a task -uprooting however many years of male domination and female subversion. It also seems to me to link all women -whereas many women would not dare call themselves feminists, those same women can probably appreciate a good male-bashing joke. Feminist jokes serve to subvert the old social standard of female submission and bring about a new thought pattern of female liberation that can be received by a broad audience in a lighter way rather than the more ill-received serious approach.
Name: ngoc
Username: ntran@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sex Jokes
Date: 2002-09-19 09:56:04
Message Id: 2768
Comments:
1. Q: Why don't men fake orgasm?
A: Because no man would make those faces on purpose.
2.Q: What is the difference between medium and rare?
A: Six inches is medium, eight inches is rare.
3. A young couple on the brink of divorce visit a marriage counsellor. The
counsellor asks the wife what is the problem. She responds " My husband
suffers from premature ejaculation." The counsellor turns to her husband and
inquires "Is that true?" The husband replies "Well not exactly, it's her that
suffers not me."
***thanks to my friend***
Name: eespirit@brynmawr.edu
Username: Elisa
Subject: jokes
Date: 2002-09-19 11:09:58
Message Id: 2772
Comments:
in regards to sex jokes, i dont know any. in fact, i dont know any jokes at all. i get so caught up in laughing i just forget!
because of my lack of knowledge, i went online and typed in "sex jokes" on google. every site i looked at was created by a man. every joke a saw was in regards to either:
a) sexual preference that differed from heterosexual sex
b) if it was about heterosexual sex, it poked fun at the functioning (or lack of funtioning) and/or size of sexual orgrans. i assume this stems from some dumb notion that there is a real standard of normality for size, shape and functioning of sexual organs.
and c) i noticed that there were many jokes that centered around older individuals having sex. (this is something that has come up in our class conversations) why is it so gross and humors to think that senior citizens have sex?!
one more thing i noticed was that all the websites, and i mean ALLLLLL, had links to pornographic sites. i check out the sites and the only type of people on them were women. of course there were different types of women--- you got to choose what woman you wanted: young/old, smaller/thicker, black/white/asian/etc. but, there was only women... no males. NONE.
this makes me think:
-is sexual humor inherently based on those sexual interactions that deviate from what we are taught to precieve as "normal" herterosexual acts?
-or, is it based on those awkward/embarassing sex moments that happen to people, therefore encouraging us to learn to laugh at these occurance rather than be traumitized by them?
-furthermore, why do these websites directly link (literally and figuratively) sexual humor with the desire to look at naked women?
Name: Masha
Username: mshardak
Subject: sexual joke
Date: 2002-09-19 15:12:57
Message Id: 2776
Comments:
This joke is intended as a battle story of some famous Russian Civil war heroine. So, she goes:" I remember once, I was lying in the trench preparing my machine gun for the upcoming battle, when suddenly I heard that someone is being raped right behind my back. I turned around, and guess what, this someone was me!" However obscene this joke might sound, in fact, it is nothing but a political statement and not that of sexual liberation of women, rather of humorous acknowledgement of the lack of civil worth of all Russian people.
Name: Anne
Username: adalke@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sex Jokes
Date: 2002-09-19 17:46:25
Message Id: 2779
Comments:
Lots of fun telling sex jokes today, trying to figure out whether each one exemplified Gershon Legman's notion of a psychological signature/unwitting unveiling of one's neurosis, or demonstrated Leonore Tiefer's and Sarah Friedman's ideas about humor enabling political change--or at least opening a space for new ways of thinking. Were the jokes we were telling preservative or revolutionary? Particularly striking to me was the way in which the jokes which worked best seemed to turn on the surprise of word play (this language thing!). Less clear to me was how we might (or whether it might be useful to) group the jokes we told: there was certainly a category of lesbian jokes, others of gay jokes, of male pratfall jokes and of scatalogical jokes. Any others? What patterns did you see in what amused you (or us as a group) and what didn't? Where do you/did we draw the "fine line" between a joke which delights and one which offends? One which confirms stereotypes and one which unsettles/destabilizes them? How do you see that line moving, depending on teller/listener/context....? (Did it make a difference, for instance, when Jill turned off the lights?) The story Mia asked at the very end--the one w/ blood on the teddy bear--is still troubling me. NOT funny, NOT a joke, I think....? At least not to me....
Anyhow, here were my jokes, all compliments of my funny friends. All penis jokes. The first one amuses me so, says a friend, because I am insatiable. The second, according to another friend (who supplied it), is a political commentary on aggressive Israeli military culture. The third is probably also susceptible to a Legmanian reading: it indicates my dis-ease w/ the notions of decline, of disease (of my family disease in particular), of mortality....
Here goes:
Do you know the one about the guy w/ 5 penises?
His pants fit him like a glove.
How do you know Jews are the world's biggest optimists?
Even before they know how big it's going to be, they cut half of it off.
This older couple meet in a nursing home, and they start to court. At this point they can't do much sexually, so he just asks her to hold it, and she readily complies. So everyday they go to the park and sit next to each other and she holds his dick in her hand.
But suddenly, he stops coming around, and she begins to see him with a new resident of the nursing home. Feeling hurt and confused, she goes up to him crying, pleading, and asks.... "what does she have that I don't have???" ....to which he replies...
"Parkinson's."
Name: Chelsea
Username: clphilli@brynmawr.edu
Subject: joke
Date: 2002-09-19 20:07:07
Message Id: 2784
Comments:
Sorry, forgot the joke.
A banana, a penis and a cucumber are all sitting around one day and talking about life. Pretty soon, they get into a discussion of who has the hardest life. The banana says, "I definately have the hardest life, first they peel me, then they eat me slowly." The cucumber and penis protest. The cucumber says, "No way, my life is much worse than yours! First they wash me, then they peel me, then they cut me up, and THEN they eat me slowly." The penis is indignant. "Listen to this: every night some big hairy man takes me into a dark room, puts a raincoat on my head and bangs me against a wall until I throw up."
Name: Maggie
Username: mscottwe
Subject: jokes
Date: 2002-09-19 21:21:27
Message Id: 2786
Comments:
After today's class, and the readings that we did, I am having trouble with classifying the jokes. I think that quite a few of the jokes we told today didn't fit in either the unifying feminist category or the psychological signature category. It seemed like some of the ones that we liked the most were plays on words more than just uncomfortable situations or political commentary.
So the joke that I brought to class, but didn't have to share, was:
The seven dwarves walk up to a convent and Dopey knocks on the door. The Prioress opens it and asks him what he wants. Dopey says, "Can you tell me if you have any dwarf nuns here?" The Prioress says that she doesn't. Dopey asks, "Well, are there any other convents near by that might have a dwarf nun?" The Prioress looks annoyed and tells him that they are the only convent for at least a hundred miles. Dopey kind of shrugs and turns around. As the Prioress shuts the door, she hears the other six dwarves singing "Dopey fucked a penguin, Dopey fucked a penguin."
I would also like to say congrats to Elisa because I absolutely LOVED her joke.
Name:
Username: eespirit
Subject: jokes
Date: 2002-09-20 11:48:01
Message Id: 2792
Comments:
here's my joke-- (I'm glad you like it Maggie) :)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Q: What do you call a lesbian dinosuar? *
A: Licalotapus. (say out loud) *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I thought it took a lot of courage for everyone in our class to both share their jokes, and share why and how something is "funny" for them. Though it was a classroom full of a lot of laughter, I also felt it to be an extremely intimate and vunerable environment (in a good way). It was a good exercise in laughter and sharing. So--- and I really hope I don't sound condescending--- but thank you to everyone, because you all created a comfortable environment where everyone's opinions and tastes were shared and respected.
Anne, in response to your discomfort from Mia's joke, I will agree and say that it made me quite unfortable to hear it. I too was left with a feeling of "NOT funny, NOT a joke, I think....? At least not to me...."
However, Mia, I think that it took a lot of courage for you to say a joke like that. And, thinking back on the class, I think that it was the most important joke that I heard yesterday. I have a friend from high school that loves telling dead baby and/or child rape incest jokes. She thinks they are just plain hilarious. I have never understood why she finds these jokes humorous, but hearing your joke yesterday reminded me of her and really caused me to think.
What makes me more scared and distubed---
-the author/teller: the fact that there is someone out there thinking up jokes like this or telling jokes like this, thinking its "funny?"
-the laugher: Or is it that there are people out there that find this type of humor funny?
Furthermore, am I afraid that I have the capability to be one of those people, that, in a different setting, would have laughed at that joke and found it funny?
I think I might be a nerd and skim over the Legman and Tiefer texts again to see if there is more in there that speaks to all this...
Name: Nancy
Username: nevans@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Dirty Jokes
Date: 2002-09-20 14:19:30
Message Id: 2795
Comments:
First of all, I'll post my joke.
These two whales, a male whale and a female whale, are swimming in the ocean when the male whale spies the whaling ship that harpooned his father many years before. He is filled with rage and says to the female whale "Let's swim under the ship, blow air out of our holes and the ship will flip over and they will drown." The female agrees and they do, indeed, flip over the ship. However, the sailors jump off the sinking ship and begin to swim towards shore. The male whale is again filled with fury and says "Lets hurry and gobble them up before they escape!"
The female hangs back a minute and says adamently, "listen, I went along with the blow job, but I am not swallowing the seamen!"
For my own comment, I have been thinking about 'crossing the line' with sex jokes. One of the articles mentioned compulsive joke tellers, and how they accost innocent people. I think of this being relevent to our studies mainly in a workplace/school environment; in many cases, the telling of a sexual joke can be considered sexual harassment. I think this is indicative of the fact that sex can be put into language, and to such an extent that doing so can offend another person and have ramifications for the speaker.
Name: ngoc
Username: ntran@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Response to Jokes
Date: 2002-09-20 16:14:41
Message Id: 2802
Comments:
I honestly don't know how to react or what to say beside my instant reaction when I first hear the jokes. My lack of response or interaction with the class, I believe, is due to my limited exposure to sex jokes...but then think again..not only sex jokes...but anything relating to sex. It's not that sex is something so new ...so foreign...but rather it's something that I've never had a "real" conversation about it with anyone...friends or family...let alone forming and sharing my perspective about it. What I experienced, felt, or believed about sex have always remained my experience, feeling, and belief alone. Yet, I don't feel that I am missing out on anything...let alone feeling the need to speak about it. It is interesting, however, to see the importance of joke...and how individuals have chosen it as a mean to express their perspectives/beliefs. I, however, find humor serves better as entertainment then as seeds of revolution.
Name: Iris Dickerson
Username: hoshicolv@aol.com
Subject: joke
Date: 2002-09-20 17:04:14
Message Id: 2804
Comments:
Why don't bunnies make noise when they have sex?
They have cotton balls
Name: sheri
Username: sfernand@bmc
Subject:
Date: 2002-09-20 19:23:48
Message Id: 2806
Comments:
One of my favorite movies is Delirious, an hour long Eddie Murphy stand-up routine. It starts out with Eddie Murphy in a tight red leather body suit. After briefly making fun of oversensitive niggers, he continues to explain that he is pacing and constantly moving around the stage so that the faggots can't get a good look at his ass. The first time I saw the beginning of the movie I was shocked. My home friends whom had all seen it before were laughing. How could they laugh at that?
But then as the movie continued I almost wet myself laughing, and the next time I saw I laughed right along with everyone else. Murphy continues to poke fun at Asians with small dicks, poor blacks, beating woman, up-tight whites, his dysfunctional family, ready to masturbate Italians, and children on welfare with alcoholic dads who can't afford ice cream. I later showed my friends at Bryn Mawr and they had the same reaction as I did, shocked at first, then covering their mouths when laughing at things they should not laugh at.
I think once we realized that Murphy was going to make fun everyone, apparently not meaning any of it. For me at least, I could rationalize laughing when Murphy made his faggot comments because he made fun of black men, and my gay friend was laughing. That sort of proved that everything was in jest.
Name: sheri
Username: sferanand@bmc
Subject:
Date: 2002-09-20 19:27:53
Message Id: 2807
Comments:
since my joke wouldn't post well, here's another:
what does a blond say after multiple orgasms?
Great work team!
Name: Emily
Username: eteel@brynmawr.edu
Subject: more jokes
Date: 2002-09-20 20:21:32
Message Id: 2809
Comments:
Q: what's the quickest way to a man's heart?
A: through his chest with a sharp knife.
heh-heh
Name: Bea
Username: blucaciu@brynmawr.edu
Subject: joke
Date: 2002-09-20 22:58:57
Message Id: 2815
Comments:
Q: What is the difference between a tire and 365 condoms?
A: One is a good year and the other is a great year.
Name: Bea
Username: blucaciu@brynmawr.edu
Subject: reaction to jokes
Date: 2002-09-20 23:11:13
Message Id: 2816
Comments:
For most of the class, I just sat back and listened, trying to figure out why I wasn't laughing at the jokes. I had heard some of the jokes before, and I remember laughing the first time I heard them. Maybe since the initial shock value had diminished, I wasn't quite so amused. Perhaps most of us would have laughed at some if they had not been told in a classroom setting. It was basically made clear that we were to share our jokes, so everyone was expecting to hear something really funny. In my mind, I instantly began to examine each joke, trying to figure out why it was humorous or offensive. Perhaps some of us didn't know if we should laugh. I enjoyed watching people's reactions, and I wondered if they would react the same way when hearing those jokes again some time.
Name: Nia Turner
Username: nturner@brynmawr.edu
Subject: The Language of Humor
Date: 2002-09-20 23:38:12
Message Id: 2818
Comments:
I have a comment in regards to a statement in Mikita Brottman's piece. The discourse of feminine hygiene deorderants prompted a question I have pondered for quite some time. Why is it that there are no male hygiene products on the market? Do men not have an obscure testical scent?
I had a discussion earlier with someone about humor, and the conclusion we reached is that what makes Black people laugh does not necessarily make Whites laugh and vice versa. Why is this phenomenon?
If I could create any day. The day would be International Male Menstruation Day. Just Imagine That!!
Name: Nia Turner
Username: nturner@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sex Joke
Date: 2002-09-20 23:41:46
Message Id: 2819
Comments:
We Really Can't Win!
A woman was shaking out a rug on the balcony of her 17th floor condominium when a sudden gust of wind blew her over the railing. "Damn, that was stupid," she thought as she fell. "What a way to die."
As she passed the 14th floor, a man standing at his railing caught her in his arms.
While she looked at him in disbelieving gratitude, he asked, "Do you suck?"
"No!" she shrieked, aghast.
So, he dropped her.
As she passed the 12th floor, another man reached out and caught her. "Do you screw?" he asked.
"Of course not!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself.
He dropped her, too.
The poor woman prayed to God for one more chance. As luck would have it, she was caught a third time, by a man on the eighth floor. "I suck! I screw!" she screamed in panic.
"Slut!" he said, and dropped her.
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