Per Shakes, I learn that brain dead Christopher Hitchens has written an article called “Why Women Aren’t Funny” that Vanity Fair was crass enough to publish.
I’m not going to skewer him, although skewering he deservies, because Shakes already did. And Amanda, and others as well.
No, I just want to tell this story.
When Arthur was five years old, I was tucking him in. I don’t know what I said that made him laugh, one of the ten thousand things I say that make him laugh (and now that he’s older, we make each other laugh, and stuff gets snorted out the nose way much in our house). And he put his tiny five year old hand on my neck and said
“That’s what Moms are for. To be funny.”
Take that, Snitchens.
One of the stereotypes of British culture is misogyny. Hitchens appears to be doing his part to keep the stereotype alive, no?
Twit……
A thought: Every comedian I love is either Catholic or Jewish. Would anyone seriously entertain the notion that non-Catholics and non-Jews aren’t funny? If not (and I suspect not), is that because Protestants (et al) on the whole are held in a higher regard than women (as a demographic)? In other words, would Vanity Fair have published this same article under any other circumstances?
I’m not at all happy with how I phrased that question. My brain is just slightly fried by the idea that one can dismiss the sense of humor of 51% of the population.
Amy, left out, and you may have missed, what could be the very worst paragraph in the whole dreadful mess:
Wait, let me run that by you again. “Jewish humor…is almost masculine by definition.”
What does that even mean, other than that Hitchens is an anti-Semite? Jewish women are butch? Angst is masculine by definition? Women don’t have angst? Jewish women aren’t really women? What is he even saying?
Hefty. Don’t forget hefty.
Jewish = hefty? Hefty = masculine?
We know that fat = funny, but I will have to agree with your overall assessment… what is this guy even SAYING?
What does that even mean
O
M
G……………..
Excellent takedown. For another great response to Hitchens (which is itself an hilarious counter-example), see Belle.
Oh jeez. I did give up before reaching that paragraph. This guy is nuts.
Gee. What would have happened if Hutchens wrote Blacks or Whites or any other nationality had no sense of humour. The problem for him is that Women’s Humour is subversive like peasant humour. It is hard for people on top to get jokes about themselves or find them funny. Maybe the problem is they do not really have the sense of humour.