31–40 of 122 posts
I guess moms & aunts either have different (better?) jokes, don't tell jokes, or tell these jokes too but haven't been singled out for it.
Anyway, as a father I realized some time ago that I do in fact tell dad jokes. I think it has to do (for me at least) with wanting to make it fun to have my kids to think about something from an unexpected angle.
I think jokes ground us to reality by interrupting the logic of ideas. The effects of people spinning and iterating on ideas without having them reconciled to humor or truth are pretty obvious. A great example is emo/goth kids (I was one) who construct and live-by the rules of a narrative fantasy governed by how well it reinforces an (aesthetic) filter on our reflection of self. We were pretty much the poster childre…
I don't think dad jokes relate to masculinity that way. I think they are more a display of non-masculinity from someone who is expected to be masculine. In a way they reflect the softening of masculinity that comes with turning your attention away from masculine achievement and towards nurturing. You get less prideful and more goofy; less tuned into adult reality and more tuned into kid reality. Instead of trying to be the most grown up grown-up in the room, you embrace childish thinking so you can meet your kids where they are, and you have so much fun that you decide to keep visiting, say, six-year-old logic even years after your kids have grown out of it. I think that's why people find dad jokes endearing, because they show someone violating the norms of adult (and masculine) dignity for the sake of making their family smile. Unlike other humor, a dad joke doesn't demonstrate intelligence, social dominance, or even much social acuity.
> Is it really only dads who can tell dad jokes? If you're not a dad and tell a dad joke, then you're a faux pa.
I’m surprised someone hasn’t complained that the term “Dad Joke” somehow perpetuates the stereotype that women, and mothers, cannot be funny, or are regarded as funny as male peers.
One of the main factors is that a "dad joke" is inserted in real conversation (Hi Hungry, I'm Dad", or an observational pun), whereas if it's set up as a fictional story ("at a funeral a man says 'May I offer you a word of comfort? Plethora'"), it's just a (kids) joke.
My unfounded theory: As with most miscommunication and conflict, the 'conflict' between 'dad' joke tellers and youthful audience is because the two parties are using the same thing (jokes) for different purposes. To describe people very, very generally: 'Youth' are displaying their social capacity - their humor, their communication ability, their ability to navigate social situations, their ability to play, etc. They…
A “Dad” joke is usually characterized by relying heavily on dumb puns and wordplay. I now believe that this is not because Dads inherently like puns but rather that two aspects of child development happen to coincide, namely:
-Between ages 2 and 6 or so children often develop the ability to giggle uncontrollably in a way that is so utterly endearing that it practically takes your breathe away. It’s incredible and addicting and pure and wholesome and wonderful. But you have to work for it because with their rapidly growing, novelty seeking brains they rarely explode with giggles at the same thing twice
- At the same age the child is learning language and acquiring vocabulary. I believe that this leads to them especially enjoying puns and silly wordplay, because it connects so well with what they are spending an enormous amount of brainpower focused on.
The enormous positive feedback loop of sometimes being rewarded with joyous laughter in response to low-brow wordplay rewires the Dad’s brain. The kid will grow out of this but some Dads spend the rest of their lives chasing the Dragon.
So, when a Dad tells a “Dad joke”, they are really trying to rekindle those giggles from when you (or their child) was 4 and found nothing more hilarious than words
You know, I’m surprised the term “Dad Joke” has managed to survive this far in this day and age, and hasn’t been replaced by the term “Parent Joke” or something. I’m surprised someone hasn’t complained that the term “Dad Joke” somehow perpetuates the stereotype that women, and mothers, cannot be funny, or are regarded as funny as male peers.