Humor & Sexual Assault

         Myriam Gurba's op-ed is extremely real, vulnerable, and completely valid. Sexual assault is a stain

 on our society and humanity in general, so it has become something that people do not really want to talk

 about. However, if we think back to the "Death over Dinner" insights, the author of that article said that

 people often use humor to talk about things they are most scared of. Would it not make sense for

 survivors of sexual assault to use humor in their healing process then as well? Gurba writes about the

 importance of spontaneity in the healing process, and says "Humor, however, disrupts stasis. Humor is a

 form of action. It requires spontaneity, and that's what's missing from the pious scripts about sexual

 assault that bother me. They don't allow survivors to really be alive," (Gurba). 

        As we have said before in class, time and place matters when considering humor surrounding sexual

 assault. This seems like something that would be best if practiced among loved ones and/or a therapist or

 trauma specialist. Although it is important for the survivor to work through and process their trauma

 healthily, sexual assault is still a very touchy subject for most people. Humor surrounding sexual assault

 is easy to be misused, as well. If the jokes are not coming from or on behalf of the survivor, they are not

 well-intentioned and should be abandoned. I think it is important that we differentiate between a survivor

 using humor to process trauma and humor being used to normalize and make light of sexual assault

 because that is not the intent. Humor in the wrong hands can be a damaging weapon. 

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