No Laughing Matter: Boundaries of Gender-Based Humour in the Classroom

Effects of exposure to sexist humor on perceptions of normative tolerance of sexism

“…In contrast, the receiver could recognize the inappropriateness of switching to a playful mindset for interpreting sexist sentiments (Apt, 1987;Barker, 1994;Mannell, 1977;Sev'er & Ungar, 1997), and thus challenge (reject) the normative standard suggested by the humor (Attardo, 1993;Francis, 1988). The receiver's opposition to sexist humor implies that there is not a shared understanding that it is acceptable to make light of sexism.…”

“…Attardo, 1993;Berlyne, 1972;Bill & Naus, 1992;McGhee, 1972). Speci®cally, it activates a conversational rule to switch from the usual serious mindset to a playful or noncritical mindset for interpreting the underlying message (Attardo, 1993;Berlyne, 1972;Mannell, 1977;McGhee, 1972;Sev'er & Ungar, 1997;Ziv & Gadish, 1990). Berlyne (1972), for instance, suggested that,`Humor is accompanied by discriminative cues, which indicate that what is happening, or is going to happen, should be taken as a joke.…”

The Rating of Sexist Humor Under Time Pressure as an Indicator of Spontaneous Sexist Attitudes

“…In line with this, Ryan and Kanjorski (1998) proposed the endorsement of sexist humor as an indirect measure of "rape supportive and sexist attitudes"(p. 744). Furthermore, it has been argued that the acceptance of sexist humor that disparages women contributes to the status quo and the structural inequality between the sexes in contemporary society (Sev'er and Ungar 1997). In line with this reasoning, experimental research using a computer harassment paradigm has shown that men use the sending of sexist jokes to a female chat partner as a means of gender harassment; this behavior was shown more frequently by men high in hostile sexism, and was more likely to be directed against feminist (vs. traditional) female targets .…”

Romanian college students' reactions to sexist humor: description and predictors

“…Brodzinsky et al 1981, Butland andIvy 1990), most researchers have used the terms 'sex' and 'gender' interchangeably in this context (e.g. Henkin and Fish 1986, Neuliep 1987, Sev'er and Ungar 1997, Greenwood and Isbell 2002. Throughout this article, we will preferentially use the terms 'women' and 'men', acknowledging gender as a primary identity and emphasizing the social dimension of the distinctions that are investigated.…”