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Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

johannakoll.posterous.com

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Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#31

Post by 9392732 »

singular wrote: post #18
flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

People laugh when they hear a "racist" joke because it's funny. Maybe race related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about race somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

I am still waiting for the out cry from "dumb things white people do" posts that pop up

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#32

Post by VMG »

rmc wrote: post #4

For those who think it doesn't matter, and that there is no sexism and that women aren't be discriminated against due to the pure fact of their gender, be aware that there have been double blinded scientific studies that show that if you change the name of a CV/resume to a female name when applying for science jobs, they don't get as much/as good offers. If this was question about whether a new drug worked or not, th…

Isn't that a separate issue? I doubt that the speakers intend to put down women, they just lacked the insight that their comedic material makes some people feel uncomfortable.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#33

Post by sgt »

flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

It's human, politically incorrect jokes are just a part of who we are. This lady is just really up-tight and probably not very pleasant to be around, and I'm sure if you stuck a lump of coal in a particular location, in two weeks you'd have a diamond.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#34

Post by JonnieCache »

singular wrote: post #18
flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

People laugh when they hear a "racist" joke because it's funny. Maybe race related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about race somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

>I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

When you are exclusively in the company of people who know you well enough to tell precisely how ironic you are or aren't being.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#36

Post by gerhardi »

ZoFreX wrote: post #13
flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

> but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? Why?

You shouldn't eat tomatoes because I don't like them.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#37

Post by lee »

flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

I don't think they do. A sexist joke is about as professional to make in a conference as a racist or religious joke. Just don't do it.

I agree that most humour will offend someone. Try watching a stand-up act that doesn't offend someone's race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or any other demographic information. Some of those discriminatory jokes can be really funny; after all we're human.

There's a time and place for it. Context is everything.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#38

Post by mcherm »

flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

> where does this political correctness stop?

Can I turn that around? Can I instead answer "When should the jokes about gender stop?" They should stop when they begin to offend someone or to marginalize them.

Now, when hanging out with a couple of your friends, you probably have the social skills, the ability to discern body language to be able to tell when someone gets offended and back off. Or maybe you don't: maybe, like me, you aren't especially good at reading nonverbal cues, in which case you should realize that about yourself and tread less close to the line.

But when presenting at a conference? When sending out a company-wide email? You don't have the skill to tell what will be a problem and what will be funny: NO ONE has that skill. So stick to the things that you are sure won't offend anyone.

Unless you're the kind of person who thinks it's just FINE to exclude or offend a few "sensitive" individuals as long as you get a chuckle from most of the room. If you're that kind of person then I don't want to associate with you anyway.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#39

Post by theorique »

Okvivi wrote: post #17

Maybe a good rule for presenters would be to imagine what happens if they replace the photo of girls in bikinis with a photo of guys in bikinis. If that makes the presentation awkward, then bikinis are not the answer.

Make it equal opportunity - scantily clad girls on left half of the slide and scantily clad guys on the right half. Then everyone's happy - straight girls, straight guys, gay girls, gay guys. Win-Win.
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