Humor SA

 

Matthew Spear

Dr. Juniper Ellis

EN346D.01 Seminar: Humor Studies

27 March 2023

Humor and Sexual Assault

            In the article “Why I Use Humor When Talking About My Sexual Assault” by Myriam Gurba, the author speaks on why she chooses to use a humorous and comedic tone when talking about her sexual assault. She cites the reverent and near-pious language used within society to discuss the sensitive topic of sexual assault. She says “According to [prevailing storytelling methods about sexual assault], experiencing sexual violence is the worst moment in a survivor’s life, period. It centers violation as a baptismal experience that defines one’s person and in many ways, all womanhood.” (Gurba 2018). She seeks to break down this language and says that though many believe rape culture makes sexual assault too normalized in society, she thinks it is not normalized enough, and that our hesitancy to discuss it except in the most careful of language reflects society’s trepidation to acknowledge sexual assault for what it is. However, I disagree with this point of view. I think the current language used to talk about sexual assault as it is used is so reverent out of respect for sexual assault survivors and that this reverence exists precisely because of the harrowing nature of sexual violence. Speaking about sexual assault using humor and a light tone risks a normalization that fails to acknowledge it for the horror that it is and in doing so minimizes victims. The second article we read for today, “  Comedy and Social Justice: Using Laughs to Change Hearts and Minds” speaks on how harmful it can be to punch down in comedy, and I believe using humor to talk about sexual assaults risks this, even when it is survivors themselves making the jokes because each survivor has a different story.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Reflections

       One of the most exciting things I have learned throughout this class is the broad scale of healing and social action that can occur from humor and how the different types of humor weigh in to form a particular narrative around complex topics. Before taking this class, I had experienced people utilizing humor in their lives to talk about issues that might be weighing heavy on their minds or conflicts they need to get off of their chests, but I never did I imagine humor being associated with sexual assault; or racist stereotypes by individuals that have been victimized to heal their pain and move past their trauma. The articles we read for class regarding the role of humor in social change and sexual assault put the power of laughter into a new category for me where I had not yet recognized its purpose. The power of humor to heal should be shared by individuals who have been victimized to break down oppressive structures surrounding them.       The funniest thing I experienced in
Read more

Principles of Uncertainty

  Sophia Starkey   Dr. Ellis EN 346D  19 March 2023 Principles of Uncertainty Response             The idiosyncratic inner monologue that Maira Kalaman presents is exceptionally relatable and incredibly touching. She constantly is in a tug of war with Time and what anything means if it all disappears one day. She recollects “the realization that (you/me) going to die and the attending DISBELIF- is not that the central premise of everything? It stops me dead in my tracks a dozen times a day. Do you think I remain frozen? No. I spring into action. I find meaningful distraction” (46). I, too, have had the inevitable dread about the deeper meaning of everything I am doing and how my worries and anxieties are nonsense because they cannot change a thing. Her mention of meaningful distraction is so prevalent in finding meaning and purpose. I, too, can appreciate the beauty and elegance of fruit platters or sitting in a garden. Some things do not need to be pressing. Everything is not a fire d
Read more

Tyler Perry’s Madea

Matthew Spear Dr. Juniper Ellis EN346D.01 Seminar: Humor Studies 3 April 2023 Tyler Perry’s Madea             Tyler Perry’s Madea is doubtlessly a di v isive character in popular culture. A black man playing a large, loud black woman via the medium of drag performance is likely to turn heads no matter the setting. However, the book “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings” offers a unique perspective on this character as well as the insights she might offer. When I began reading this text, I expected, frankly, some cheap and punchy toilet humor on the part of Tyler Perry in order to further cash in on his wildly successful Madea character. But the prose I discovered was far more developed, using comedy as a medium by which to show the good attributes and deep flaws of a character that Perry says was “inspired by his mother and aunt.” By keeping this inspiration in mind we as readers may be able to gleam more meaning from Madea and her whims, and view her instead as a m
Read more