From: gcf@panix.com (Gordon Fitch)
Subject: Re: Feminist Jokes
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 13:55:46 GMT
Organization: mydog in exile

gcf@panix.com (Gordon Fitch) writes:
| >I'm not trying to distract those who want to attack
| >feminism.  On the contrary, they reveal themselves more
| >thoroughly with each article.  Humor is particularly
| >revealing, because it points to emotional tension 
| >(among other things).  Clearly, if jokes are made about
| >the sexuality of feminists, there's an underlying
| >tension, probably fear or anger, which the joke 
| >relieves.  The psychology of humor has been studied
| >quite a bit, and you can probably find material on
| >what I'm talking about in fairly basic texts -- or
| >even observe it in daily life.

starbuck@ucrmath.ucr.edu (starbuck) writes:
| You wouldn't be if you had a moral foot to stand on.  But you stand on
| hypocrital ground.  You distract because of feminist hypocracy.  Feminists
| themselves though their actions make many of their arguments invalid.

I don't usually criticize people's spelling, but if you're
going to use "hypocrisy" and its derivatives constantly,
you should learn how to spell them.

| We hear a lot about a feminist's right to be angry.  Anger seems to be a 
| feminist trait.  Feminists are proud of their anger, they nuture it.   
| And they, like the so called anti-feminist, _make_ the same kind of jokes.
| What right could feminists have to bitch about a few jokes given the fact
| they are no different? 

Who's bitching?  This stuff is not only out of left
field, it crawled over the wall.

| Case in point.  In the November 1992 issue of the "NOW National Times",
| their was a ad in the classified section that stated for five bucks I
| could order a book of jokes.  The ad stated something like this.  
| 
| "If you ever wanted to laugh at a penis -- weenie-toons by women cartoonists 
| who mock cocks."
| 
| What is your read on this?  Is it not as gross as what you suggest the
| anti-feminist jokes are?  My read is hypocracy in action.  Liers of the
| realm.  Does this humor reveal anything about feminists or NOW?
| How can feminists object to jokes about womens bodies? 

Publish some of them and I'd be glad to analyze them.
Remember, though, that they have to be _interesting_.
If the feminist light-bulb jokes had been merely old
or boring (e.g. "... and it isn't funny!") then I would
have ignored them.  It was the introduction of sexu-
ality out of the blue, and its resonance with older
misogynistic writing, that I found interesting.  You
don't get it yet, do you?

| You know, this book of jokes called "weene-toons" is trivial and might
| even be as much of a hoot as the feminist manifesto.  What I find offensive
| is that feminists act oh so offended by one thing and then go do the same
| thing themselves.  They seem very confused people.  Like they don't know
| the difference between right and wrong.  They are self-centered in how
| the define their terms.

Everyone is self-centered, including, very obviously,
yourself.  Otherwise you would notice that I haven't been
offended at the sex-hungry socket feminist lightbulb 
jokes, I've been amused by them -- in a different way,
however, than their tellers intended.  Why don't you
take a deep breath, and re-read some of the material?
I know it doesn't fit your stereotype of feminist
propaganda (as advertised above), but I'll bet you can 
handle it if you try.  You might even learn something!

| Hillel used to say some thing like this, "When you do it to me it is
| feminism, when I do it to you it is sexism".  I couldn't agree more.

He still does.  And no, you couldn't agree more.
However, your cosy relationship has nothing to do
with the subject matter at hand.
-- 

 )*(    Gordon Fitch    )*(    gcf@panix.com    )*(
( 1238 Blg. Grn. Sta.,  NY NY 10274 * 718.273.5556 )
Newsgroups: alt.feminism