Destroyers, A debate has been going on about the current popularity of “rape humour” from comedians. Many defend such humour as being “edgy”, or point out that comedy has traditionally taken on “taboo” subjects. If you have missed all this, this excellent article by Clementine Ford, gives you a good insight. She argues something different: “There’s a deep irony in the fact that the comedy fraternity sees the rights of women to feel safe as theoretical, yet their own rights to joke about raping them a cornerstone of freedom of expression…That the industry is overwhelmingly dominated by men is a huge problem; the vast majority of rape victims are women and the vast majority of perpetrators are men. This isn’t about freedom of speech. It’s about one group using the pain of another group (which has traditionally been inflicted by the first group!) to further their own careers..” Ford also argues that such jokes are part of a continuum of the “cultural normalisation” of violence against women. Destroyers, what do you think? Is she right, or are jokes harmless and not something anyone who cares about violence against women and girls should worry about?
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 02:15:14 +0000