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. :)