The Elusive Female Sense of Humor, an interpretive dance by a drink-soaked former Trotskyist popinjay December 7, 2006 zuzu Shorter Christopher “Laff-a-Minute” Hitchens: Women aren’t funny because they don’t laugh at my jokes. The only ones who are funny are fat Jewish dykes, and since I can’t pretend they want my sodden ass, I can dismiss them as not women. So, women, definitively, aren’t funny. Almost filed under “crimes,” because I have to wonder what Hitchens has on Graydon Carter if Vanity Fair is publishing this ill-supported swill.
The article is a piece of shit, but I think it’s interesting that he identified Jewish women, fat women, and lesbians as “funny.” I think it really speaks to the different relationship women from these groups (and women like me who fall into more than one of these groups) have with femininity. We don’t meet the WASP standard of femininity. We’re not fuckable. We’re too big, too loud, too pushy. My theory is that because these groups of women already don’t meet those standards, they have a little more space to be the “funny girl.” They’re not “fuckable” so they justify their social existence by being amusing. I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head, but the stock character of the popular girls funny fat best friend comes to mind.
Sorry for the double post, but someone posted this on the feminist lj community last night, and it’s been buzzing around my brain ever since. Another group of women who don’t meet the WASP standard of femininity and get to be funny: Italian women (and Catholic women in general depending where you’re from) are also stereotyped as loud, pushy, domineering. Interestingly, I can’t think of very many women of colour who get put into the category of funny girl. Definitely some Black women, particularly fat Black women.
So…as a fembot, I don’t need humor software? Gee, good thing he told me: maybe I’ll delete it and substitute a boobie upgrade!! Moron.
It is amazing that Vanity Fair would publish something reeking of misogynist anti-Semitic homophobic fat-bashing. I mean, couldn’t they have stopped at the trifecta? Why go for four?
Hey, Wait a minute, I think you wrote something funny. How is that possible? Are you a guy in disguise? The truth is guys don’t realize that we aren’t laughing with them but AT them. I cannot recall how much polite laughter, approval and “amazement” I have wasted on boring men in my life simply trying to get out of the situation of them talking to me. Or too kill some time. Or as an observer of the social condition. Ok, really just becuase I was trained to be “nice.”
Sorry for the double post, but someone posted this on the feminist lj community last night, and it’s been buzzing around my brain ever since. No, it’s a really good point. In Unbearable Weight, Susan Bordo raised the issue of backhanded “protection” from beauty standards–basically, the theory that there are large numbers of women who are being told that they shouldn’t even bother. This seems like the same dynamic, and it makes sense that it would dovetail with racialized, heterosexist understanding of femininity. I think Hitch thinks his assy racism and homophobia are actually a nod towards inclusion.
So…as a fembot, I don’t need humor software? Gee, good thing he told me: maybe I’ll delete it and substitute a boobie upgrade!! Moron. See, now that was just a terrible joke. Best stick to window treatments and lemon squares, and leave the risibility to natural comedians like Tucker Max.
oops, I just realized that guy in disguise comment may have been um..:D I read too many blogs. I fully support everyone and everything (who blog as feministe) and have a hard time remembering who’s in what personal condtions. Love me anyway?
Hey, Wait a minute, I think you wrote something funny. How is that possible? Are you a guy in disguise? Close. I’m fat, so I’m a not-woman. The one you gotta watch out for is Jill.
On a possibly, somewhat related note… Amy Sedaris is on The Megan Mullaly Show… and they are making cake. Make of that what you will.
So I guess I can conclude from Hitchens’ article that men are much more boring than women, since I lost interest after the first few paragraphs of his bloviating and couldn’t bring myself to finish. Seriously, I think deep down he knows that he’s just a washed up, boring old prick, which is why he opts for provocation in almost all of his writing — he thinks that makes him interesting. Yawn.
However, there is something that you absolutely never hear from a male friend who is hymning his latest (female) love interest: “She’s a real honey, has a life of her own … [interlude for attributes that are none of your business] … and, man, does she ever make ’em laugh.” Isn’t the issue that Hitchens misses entirely the fact that in Western culture, men often aren’t taught to value a sense of humor in women? You know, the whole ‘I make a joke, no one laughs, Random McDude makes the same joke, it’s hilarious’ bit. (And don’t get me started on who’s actually funnier. Ho boy.)
You know, I used to like Hitchie. He used to be kinda cool. I remember reading a highly erudite and successful female New York blogger, at the time when I had just started out writing my own blog. She liked Hitchie too. I wonder what she would say about this giant explosion of verbal diarrhea, and his decline in general. The man is obtuse. He’s drowning in bile. And it’s pathetic and sad.
Seriously, I think deep down he knows that he’s just a washed up, boring old prick, which is why he opts for provocation in almost all of his writing — he thinks that makes him interesting. I see a writing career in Gary Miller’s future.
What an amazing piece of swill. The idiot author seems to think that humor is universal – what I find funny, you will find funny. The fact is that we all define humorousness in terms of our respective contexts. Men and women have different social contexts, and therefore find different things funny.
I am thanking my lucky stars that I’m a funny fat Jewish dyke and not Hitchens’ love interest. I often find myself laughing with other women, regardless of their ethnicity, size, or sexual orientation. Maybe we’re just not interested in entertaining men like Hutchins.
Isn’t the issue that Hitchens misses entirely the fact that in Western culture, men often aren’t taught to value a sense of humor in women? Exactly. The point isn’t that women aren’t funny, but rather that women aren’t supposed to be funny. Unfortunately, the latter argument is pretty obviously anti-woman, and Hitchens prefers to be more subtle in his misogynist assholery.
In college, I had an opportunity to meet Nicole Hollander, the author of the cartoon, Sylvia (who often sits in her bathtub with a typewriter). She told our class about trying to sell the cartoon to the (male) newspaper editors, but was turned away again and again; they all felt that “Sylvia” was not funny. Finally she convinced one editor to show the cartoon to his wife before pronouncing judgement. The paper bought the cartoon.
He summarizes this paragraph: “Women appeared to have less expectation of a reward, which in this case was the punch line of the cartoon,” said the report’s author, Dr. Allan Reiss. “So when they got to the joke’s punch line, they were more pleased about it.” The report also found that “women were quicker at identifying material they considered unfunny.” as this: “Slower to get it, more pleased when they do, and swift to locate the unfunny…” Where the hell does “slower to get it” come up in the first ‘graf? Oh, right… from Hitchens’ ass. Just like the rest of his article. Mystery solved.
I read that New Yorker profile (in zuzu’s link), and it was pretty interesting. His long-time girlfriend just matter-of-factly states (over cocktails) that Hitchens is an alcoholic, albeit a functioning one. In my experience, “functioning alcoholics” can’t stay that way forever. Eventually they stop functioning. I really can’t stand him, but there was one thing in the article that made me laugh (and not at him). Hitchens says that the four most overrated things are champagne, lobster, anal sex, and picnics.
If you’re going to trot out the “women ain’t funny” shit, at the very minimum it’s important that you actually be funny. Hitch is about as funny as a quadruple bypass, which makes his crude misogyny even more transparent. (The fact that women don’t find him funny rather counts in favor of their sense of humor.)
Kim: Amy Sedaris just came out with a book called I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, which might explain the cake making.
Ah, Hitchens, Hitchens, Hitchens. I read this sentence “Funny? He wouldn’t know a joke if it came served on a bed of lettuce with sauce béarnaise,” and I know he so desperately wants to write like P.G. Wodehouse (who is actually funny). But I’ve read P.G. Wodehouse (and how), and Hitchens doesn’t even come close. Either that or he wants to be John Mortimer writing Rumpole. And he’s not coming close to achieving that either. As such, I think he needs to hang it up when it comes to critiquing humor.
It is amazing that Vanity Fair would publish something reeking of misogynist anti-Semitic homophobic fat-bashing. I mean, couldn’t they have stopped at the trifecta? Why go for four? It’s like the razor companies always trying to up the ante with more blades. He’s like the far-lefty Ann Coulter. “I’ll say anything! Just keep looking at me!”
I read this sentence “Funny? He wouldn’t know a joke if it came served on a bed of lettuce with sauce béarnaise,” and I know he so desperately wants to write like P.G. Wodehouse (who is actually funny). I had the same reaction, but instead of “to write like P.G. Wodehouse), I thought “a punch in the face”. And I’m not a violent guy.
This kind of thing is barely worth responding to, but one thing that struck me is that most of the times I’ve heard someone say “You must meet X. X is hilarious!”, it’s been a woman talking about another woman. And the evenings I’ve had where I actually hurt from laughing have mostly been in exclusively female company. Has Hitch never heard a bunch of women sitting together in a bar, or does all female noise just sound like “squee squee squee” when your eardrums are full of gin?
>Jewish women, fat women, and lesbians as “funny.” hey, 3 for 3! I guess that explains everything! you know who really has a great sense of humor? Whoever hired this guy in the damn first place & determined his salary.
I feel so odd…. see… I’m a petite, straight, aethist… but people are always telling me I’m funny (even though I don’t think I am) all the time… WTF?