After conferencing with Dr. Carignan, I've decided that I need to change my thesis and cut down on some of the ideas I had wanted to include in this paper because I wouldn't be able to adequately cover them in the number of pages assigned and still be able to go in-depth. I've decided to focus in on the idea that women aren't funny.
These are the changes I've made:
Research Question: Can women use humor as a tool to deconstruct patriarchal ideologies, specifically the idea that women are incapable of being funny or that they are less funny than men? How? What obstacles do they face in doing so? What affect does sexist humor have on social standards?
Thesis Statement: Humor can be a subversive and empowering tool for women, feminists, and other proponents of gender equality to deconstruct patriarchal ideologies and sexist stereotypes, such as the idea that men are inherently funnier than women or that women are incapable of successfully being humorous, and redefine gender roles. Historically, however, men have controlled the dissemination of humor, determined what is and what is not acceptable as humorous discourse, and have used humor and jokes to create and perpetuate patriarchal ideals, making it difficult for women to overcome such labels because they are accepted and adopted into social norms.
Summary: In my synthesis paper, I focused on the power relationship in joke telling that is proposed in Susan Purdie's essay "The Butt." The general consensus among the various articles the class was assigned was that men had the upper hand, and that women were often times the butt of the joke. Purdie asserts that in order for any butt to gain power, they must make jokes at their own expense in which they themselves act as the butt. Therefore, a woman would need to make jokes that women are the butt of to get any power, thus perpetuating any sexist stereotypes and discrimination that result because of these jokes. This idea interested me. I'd like to take a look at how jokes, humor, and comedy in general can create and maintain these stereotypes and what effects this has on social expectations and tolerance.
I think this is more manageable than what I had going in my research proposal rough draft. Hopefully I've narrowed it down enough. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sources for Final Paper and MLA Citations
Case, Charles E., and Cameron D. Lippard. "Humorous Assaults on Patriarchal Ideology." Sociological Inquiry 79.2 (2009): 240-255. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 March 2010.
Humor is a significant weapon in interpersonal and intergroup conflict and competition. Through the use of humor and jokes, males have been able to create and perpetuate patriarchal ideals, relationships, and structure. Proponents of gender equality, including feminists, also try to use humor to deconstruct these patriarchal ideologies and sexist stereotypes.
Ford, Thomas E., Eric R. Wentzel, and Joli Lorion. "Effects of exposure to sexist humor or perceptions of normative tolerance of sexism." European Journal of Social Psychology 31.6 (2001): 677-691. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 March 2010.
Exposure to sexist jokes and humor helps to create a perceived social norm of sexism, thus building a tolerance for it. When men are in environments in which sexist humor is very prevalent and this normative standard exists, they feel less self-directed negative affect when they behave in a sexist manner.
McVittie, Chris, and Karen Goodall. "Harry, Paul and the Filipino Maid: Racial and Sexual Abuse in Local Contexts." Journal of Health Psychology 14.5 (2009). 651-654. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 March 2010.
This article takes a look at a British television sketch broadcast. The authors believe that the sketch offensively reflects and reproduces patterns of social injustice, including racial and sexual injustices, through its attempts at humor. The author argues that constructing the show in socially unjust terms justifies the abuse. I was planning on using this source to support my argument that humor can perpetuate sexism and even justify it because it cites a specific example of it, and I thought that a specific example would be more effective than a hypothetical or more general one.
Western Carolina University. "Sexist Humor No Laughing Matter, Psychologist Says." ScienceDaily. 7 Nov 2007. 7 March 2010.
A Western Carolina University psychology professor did a research project that indicated that sexist jokes or jokes about blonds or bad women drivers, etc. are not just harmless fun and games. The professor cane to the conclusion that exposure to sexist humor can lead to the toleration of hostile feelings and discrimination against women.
Purdie, Susan. "The Butt: The Third Person." Comedy: The Mastery of Discourse. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993: 58-70. Print.
In Susan Purdie's essay "The Butt," she proposes a power relationship that exists within joke telling. She argues that in order for any butt to gain power, they must make jokes at their own expense in which they themselves act as the butt. The articles we read as a class seem to acknowledge and agree that men have the upper hand in this power struggle, and often times women are the butt of the joke. If this is the case, a woman would need to crack jokes that women were the butt of to get a share in any of the power. This would only help reinforce preexisting sexist stereotypes and discrimination.
Humor is a significant weapon in interpersonal and intergroup conflict and competition. Through the use of humor and jokes, males have been able to create and perpetuate patriarchal ideals, relationships, and structure. Proponents of gender equality, including feminists, also try to use humor to deconstruct these patriarchal ideologies and sexist stereotypes.
Ford, Thomas E., Eric R. Wentzel, and Joli Lorion. "Effects of exposure to sexist humor or perceptions of normative tolerance of sexism." European Journal of Social Psychology 31.6 (2001): 677-691. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 March 2010.
Exposure to sexist jokes and humor helps to create a perceived social norm of sexism, thus building a tolerance for it. When men are in environments in which sexist humor is very prevalent and this normative standard exists, they feel less self-directed negative affect when they behave in a sexist manner.
McVittie, Chris, and Karen Goodall. "Harry, Paul and the Filipino Maid: Racial and Sexual Abuse in Local Contexts." Journal of Health Psychology 14.5 (2009). 651-654. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 March 2010.
This article takes a look at a British television sketch broadcast. The authors believe that the sketch offensively reflects and reproduces patterns of social injustice, including racial and sexual injustices, through its attempts at humor. The author argues that constructing the show in socially unjust terms justifies the abuse. I was planning on using this source to support my argument that humor can perpetuate sexism and even justify it because it cites a specific example of it, and I thought that a specific example would be more effective than a hypothetical or more general one.
Western Carolina University. "Sexist Humor No Laughing Matter, Psychologist Says." ScienceDaily. 7 Nov 2007. 7 March 2010.
A Western Carolina University psychology professor did a research project that indicated that sexist jokes or jokes about blonds or bad women drivers, etc. are not just harmless fun and games. The professor cane to the conclusion that exposure to sexist humor can lead to the toleration of hostile feelings and discrimination against women.
Purdie, Susan. "The Butt: The Third Person." Comedy: The Mastery of Discourse. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993: 58-70. Print.
In Susan Purdie's essay "The Butt," she proposes a power relationship that exists within joke telling. She argues that in order for any butt to gain power, they must make jokes at their own expense in which they themselves act as the butt. The articles we read as a class seem to acknowledge and agree that men have the upper hand in this power struggle, and often times women are the butt of the joke. If this is the case, a woman would need to crack jokes that women were the butt of to get a share in any of the power. This would only help reinforce preexisting sexist stereotypes and discrimination.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Ideas Behind Final Paper
In my synthesis paper, I focused on the power relationship that Susan Purdie proposed in her essay "The Butt." The general consensus among the articles that the class was assigned to read (namely Von Hahn, Hitchens, and Valenti) was that men had the upper hand and that women were often times made the butt of the joke. Purdie asserts that the butt must engage in humor at their own expense, making themselves the butt of the joke, in order to gain any sense of power in this relationship. Therefore, a woman would have to engage in jokes that women are the butt of in order to achieve and establish power, even though such jokes could potentially perpetuate any sexist stereotypes and discrimination that result as a consequence of such jokes.
This idea interests me, and so that's how I plan on transitioning from my synthesis paper to my argument paper. I'd like to look at men's dominance over the comedy industry, how women can use comedy to break down stereotypes and discrimination, and any obstacles that may hinder them from accomplishing this. My intention is to structure my paper so that I first take a look at how sexist jokes, humor, and comedy in general help in the creation of stereotypes and the maintenance of these stereotypes, and then dive into how sexist jokes effect social expectations and toleration of discrimination. From there, I'd like to work my way into how women can and do use humor to deconstruct patriarchal ideals and stereotypes.
Anyway, this is what I'm working with so far, and, of course, I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks. :)
This idea interests me, and so that's how I plan on transitioning from my synthesis paper to my argument paper. I'd like to look at men's dominance over the comedy industry, how women can use comedy to break down stereotypes and discrimination, and any obstacles that may hinder them from accomplishing this. My intention is to structure my paper so that I first take a look at how sexist jokes, humor, and comedy in general help in the creation of stereotypes and the maintenance of these stereotypes, and then dive into how sexist jokes effect social expectations and toleration of discrimination. From there, I'd like to work my way into how women can and do use humor to deconstruct patriarchal ideals and stereotypes.
Anyway, this is what I'm working with so far, and, of course, I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks. :)
Thesis for Final Paper
Research Question: Can women use humor as a tool to deconstruct patriarchal ideologies? How? What obstacles do they face in doing so? How does men's control over the comedy industry affect their ability to succeed? What affect does sexist humor have on social standards?
Thesis Statement: Humor can be a subversive and an empowering tool for women, feminists, and other proponents of gender equality to deconstruct patriarchal ideologies and sexist stereotypes and redefine gender roles. Historically, however, men have controlled the dissemination of humor, determine what is and what is not acceptable as humorous discourse, and have used humor and jokes to create and perpetuate patriarchal ideals.
I posted this thesis statement to the discussion board during week six and didn't receive a whole lot of feedback from the class. I'm not sure why, but I figured that if I needed to make any substantial changes to it, someone would've spoken up. As a result, I've decided to stick with it, and I've found four sources (in addition to the articles provided for the class) that I intend to use in my argument paper thus far.
Thesis Statement: Humor can be a subversive and an empowering tool for women, feminists, and other proponents of gender equality to deconstruct patriarchal ideologies and sexist stereotypes and redefine gender roles. Historically, however, men have controlled the dissemination of humor, determine what is and what is not acceptable as humorous discourse, and have used humor and jokes to create and perpetuate patriarchal ideals.
I posted this thesis statement to the discussion board during week six and didn't receive a whole lot of feedback from the class. I'm not sure why, but I figured that if I needed to make any substantial changes to it, someone would've spoken up. As a result, I've decided to stick with it, and I've found four sources (in addition to the articles provided for the class) that I intend to use in my argument paper thus far.
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