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Full-Text Articles in Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics
Liberated Jokes: Sexual Humor In All-Female Groups, Janet Bing
Liberated Jokes: Sexual Humor In All-Female Groups, Janet Bing
English Faculty Publications
Females have formerly been under-represented in jokes. Many scholars have claimed that joke making is primarily a male activity, particularly in the domain of sexual jokes. In this paper, I discuss sexual jokes that women share with each other both in all-female groups and by e-mail. After reviewing some widely held assumptions about women and jokes, I explore liberated women's jokes, including their structure, use of stereotypes, and subversive ideas. Finally, I discuss why humor theory is incomplete without the inclusion of a female perspective and suggest that women should tell more jokes.
Lesbian Jokes: A Reply To Christie Davies, Janet Bing
Lesbian Jokes: A Reply To Christie Davies, Janet Bing
English Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
How Many Lesbians Does It Take To Screw In A Light Bulb?", Janet M. Bing, Dana Heller
How Many Lesbians Does It Take To Screw In A Light Bulb?", Janet M. Bing, Dana Heller
English Faculty Publications
This paper explores how humor reveals shared aspects of a culture of lesbian communities in the US. For lesbians, jokes and other forms of humor are an active, narrative means of self-construction and community imagining that help lesbians negotiate their positions both inside and outside mainstream culture. Whether consciously or unconsciously, much of lesbian humor challenges the dominant culture by rejecting its definitions of and presuppositions about lesbians, and by making lesbian experience central to its understanding of normalcy. Whereas the term "lesbian joke" usually activates a sex frame for the dominant culture, much humor created by and for lesbians …