chabot@avalon.DEC (05/09/84)
I remember seeing a mention or two a week or so ago about the reputed lack of a sense of humor by feminists. This seems to me to be one of those indefensible statements which is so obviously ridiculous that no one bothers to waste the time to refute it. Since the main machine is down, I'm game, I'll waste a little time. And I can think of counterexamples: Just the statement itself often provokes me to grin. I find the How-many-feminists version of the lightbulb joke both very amusing and not funny :-). MS. magazine (used to, anyway) run a "No Comment" section, which featured ads and quotes that were so blatantly sexist and often so stupid that one couldn't help laughing. Well, the above examples may just mean I've got a sick sense of humor. But here're others: I remember a volume of jokes by feminists entitled "Titters"; although I never cracked it I do remember the picture on the cover. Alan Alda is a feminist, and I remember a silly article he wrote for MS. about testosterone poisoning; even if you don't trust my sense of humor, the staff at MS. must have thought it funny. (My boyfriend at the time didn't think it funny at ALL (which I thought was hysterical).) Perhaps it's not feminists who don't have a sense of humor, but it's non- feminists who don't understand feminist humor. I found the remark by Brownmiller that men are crabby 365 days a year funny...come on, didn't any of the rest of you women (or you men) giggle a little over that (even if it is just too seriously true! :-) :-) :-) )? But I object to being declared guilty of lacking a sense of humor and having to prove myself innocent of such a lack. So somebody prove to me that feminists have no sense of humor. And no wimpouts, like defining the set of feminists to exclude anyone with a sense of humor, 'cause it just ain't so. Of course, here I am, spoiling good jokes about the "fact" that feminists have no sense of humor. HA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Pay no attention to that address at the top of the letter, Lisa S. Chabot shadow: ...decwrl!rhea!avalon!chabot shadow: ...decwrl!rhea!arden!chabot Stranded in the shadows today (indefinitely)...can't walk the pattern and none of the trumps lead to amber...
tims@mako.UUCP (Tim Stoehr) (05/10/84)
> Perhaps it's not feminists who don't have a sense of humor, but it's non- > feminists who don't understand feminist humor. Humor is relative. I'm sure there are plenty who of people think rape is funny.
emjej@uokvax.UUCP (05/23/84)
#R:decwrl:-2100:uokvax:6500007:000:527 uokvax!emjej May 23 00:43:00 1984 /***** uokvax:net.women / decwrl!DEC / 3:11 am May 10, 1984 */ But I object to being declared guilty of lacking a sense of humor and having to prove myself innocent of such a lack. So somebody prove to me that feminists have no sense of humor. /* ---------- */ Alas, you'll see no such proof, since I doubt that you'll get agreement on a definition of "feminist." In general, no fanatic sees humor in its area of fanaticism, but that may or may not be true of particular feminists, whatever that means. James Jones