Language & Literature

The Necessity of Offensiveness in Humor
Gina R. Cook
Dr. Mary Shapiro, Faculty Mentor

It is well established in sociolinguistics that men and women often have different patterns of communication. How does this apply to humor, especially offensive and non-offensive joking? 40 students, 20 female and 20 male were surveyed. They were asked to rate the funniness and offensiveness of fourteen jokes, seven chosen as potentially offensive and seven chosen as potentially non-offensive. The results reveal significant differences in male and female judgement of the jokes.

Keywords: humor, gender differences, sociolinguistics

Topic(s):English

Presentation Type: Oral Paper

Session: 7-4
Location: VH 1304
Time: 9:00

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