Posted by Dyuti Sudipta
If you can’t crack jokes without saying demeaning things about women, trans and homosexual people and then crib about feminists not being able to take jokes, then I think there’s an immense need of realizing the position you’re cracking the joke from, the location, and the same of those people not agreeing to laugh at it. You’re probably making fun of something that does not impact you the way it impacts them, probably does not impact you at all, and impacts them severely, in mostly negative ways.
Also read: Am I The Only One Who Finds Such ‘Jokes’ Offensive?
If you’re cracking rape jokes, being a cishet male, you probably find it funny because you don’t live under constant fear of getting raped, you haven’t seen what effect it has on people. If you are cracking jokes on people coming from lower castes or religious minorities, its because you are not one of them, and you don’t face the everyday social stigma due to the stereotypes you’re propagating knowing or unknowingly through your jokes that they do. If you’re cracking joke about someone’s complexion, it’s because you don’t face the same sort of social reaction people with that complexion face. If you’re cracking homophobic jokes, it’s because you’re not one of them, and they are not even allowed to be themselves, considered abnormal, are subjected often to corrective rapes to bring then back to normalcy and you have no clue of how horrific these things are.
You may be minority in one sense and privileged in the other, and disapprove one kind of degradation while propagating some. That’s where lies the need of constant introspection of one’s location in the society. Because that controls what jokes we can take, what jokes we can’t. And we don’t take joke that’s on us or someone we aspire to be.
And what can’t be ignored is jokes normalize things, be hatred, violence, racism, casteism, misogyny. You can safely put your prejudices served in plate in public and call it a joke.
The trick is indeed fun, unless someone else plays it on you!
Also read: How to Handle Sexist Jokes and Your Friends Who Find Them Funny
Dyuti Sudipta is a Women’s Studies student, believes feminist, Ambedkarite, proletarian revolution is on it’s way. Kills sexism in free time. Sarcastic loudmouth.
