Author Topic: Are men funnier than women? (Read 8831 times)

I'm one of those even by male standards who just HAS to try and be funny all the time, probably to the point of pathology, ironically not really possessing the most rudimentary of humour making facilities, to paraphrase Stewart Lee.

I definitely notice women laugh at men's jokes than men at wonen's or men at men's or women at women's. Probably an ego thing?

Same here. I couldn’t leave work yesterday evening without launching into a sub-Rob Newman routine. I got my laughs, but I know in my heart it was poor - they’re just easily pleased.

It is definitely an ego thing and a form of self-protection. I think I do it because I’m usually very quiet. It’s a good way of reminding people A. You’re not a comatose moron. And B. You have the rudimentary skills to take others down if necessary.

C. It’s also a good way of relieving tension - particularly in an office full of men. It lightens the mood and keeps everyone in check. If there wasn’t a ready supply of humour to unbottle, I could see things getting quite nasty pretty quick.

madhair60 · « **Reply #49 on:** October 31, 2019, 11:43:23 PM »

No. More funny men are successful than funny women, and more funny men are seen than funny women, because women get the shitty end of the stick on basically everything, ever, throughout all of history.

There are plenty of hilarious women in stand-up, etc, but when they get breakthrough films etc they're not comedies, they're "date movies" or "chick flicks" so people don't give them time of day. Everything's marketed to men.

northernrebel · « **Reply #50 on:** November 01, 2019, 12:21:09 AM »

My mother is hilarious, albeit unintentionally. The humour probably wouldn't work written down here, but it can crack the whole room up. Usually her misunderstandings and mispronunciations are absurdist genius. My older sister bless her is lovely but not that much of a comic. My other sister when younger was genuinely and intentionally hilarious - she had a sort of madcap histrionic act she could put on, which she still puts on to great effect on the very odd occasion.

Forgive the indulgence. But FWIW on my own anecdotal evidence women can be hilarious.

Twed · « **Reply #51 on:** November 01, 2019, 12:47:19 AM »

Zetetic, this is a classic example of not knowing when the tools you have aren't the right ones for the job.

Twit 2 · « **Reply #52 on:** November 01, 2019, 12:54:15 AM »

There are probably some graphs about tools.

Bronzy · « **Reply #53 on:** November 01, 2019, 02:15:42 AM »

Quote from: madhair60 on October 31, 2019, 11:43:23 PM

Everything's marketed to men.

I should bloody think so as well with our big throbby cocks

NJ Uncut · « **Reply #54 on:** November 01, 2019, 04:11:58 AM »

Doubt it, women are always tittering aren't they

Paul Calf · « **Reply #55 on:** November 01, 2019, 04:46:15 AM »

Quote from: Twed on November 01, 2019, 12:47:19 AM

Zetetic, this is a classic example of not knowing when the tools you have aren't the right ones for the job.

Hang on, wait a sec.

Paul Calf · « **Reply #56 on:** November 01, 2019, 04:46:43 AM »

Ok, I’m ready for some nuclear-grade iconoclasm. Off you go.

icehaven · « **Reply #57 on:** November 01, 2019, 06:24:55 AM »

I think there can be a weird assumption that female comedian's/comedy actor's material is for women, but men's is for everyone, which naturally results in men being "funnier" because their stuff is assumed to have wider appeal. It was noticeable in discussion about Fleabag a while back, there was quite a lot of ''If I'm not a woman (and in this example also not posh) then why would I watch this?", as if at least some personal identification with the character was necessary to enjoy it, which is not something I think I've ever seen with a male character. Obviously plenty of people didn't think that, and it's also not to say men identifying with a male character wouldn't enhance their enjoyment of something, but it's rarely if ever considered necessary to enjoy it at all.

The Boston Crab · « **Reply #58 on:** November 01, 2019, 07:02:51 AM »

Women are better able to bond through finding common ground and understanding each other.

Men are better able to laugh at a fart.

Same end result: FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Zetetic · « **Reply #59 on:** November 01, 2019, 07:43:51 AM »

Quote from: Twed on November 01, 2019, 12:47:19 AM

Zetetic, this is a classic example of not knowing when the tools you have aren't the right ones for the job.

Which job?

They've tried to answer an interesting question better than "I reckon". I don't want to overstate how well they've tried to answer it - an anonymous cartoon caption competition obviously isn't a task that represents the diverse nature of "humour production ability" very well for a start. (And there's some very brief discussion of this in the paper.)

From their actual conclusion:
"Examination of such data suggest that regardless of the underlying source of variability, men exhibit higher humor ability than women on the kinds of verbal tasks included in our sample of studies. It is important to remember that though robust, these differences are small to medium in size, and are based on averages. They do not reflect individual abilities, as both men and women vary largely in their abilities to produce humor."

(I think 'to medium' possibly overstates the case.)

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Author Topic: Are men funnier than women? (Read 8831 times)