Rape jokes?

BlindPelican · 2014-05-11T00:33:16+00:00

I see this subject come up from time to time, and honestly I can say that in over 4 decades of life, I've never heard a rape joke told by anyone I know.

Is this really that common an occurrence?

gravvs · 2014-05-11T03:20:39+00:00

The problem with rape jokes is usually how they're targeted. Take for example this joke by Sam Morril:

My ex-girlfriend never made me wear a condom. That’s huge. She was on the pill........ambien.

We find things funny when they are incongruous. The joke is of course the fact that we think he's talking about birth control when he's really talking about raping her while she sleeps. The problem with this joke is that the person getting raped is also the target of the joke. It's funny that she got raped. The incongruity is that we don't expect her to get raped, but then she is.

Now that's not to say that rape jokes are all inherently bad. Louis CK has a couple that I think work well.

I wouldn't have killed Hitler, I would have raped him. I think that would have stopped him from doing all that shit.

In this situation the target of the rape is not a sleeping girlfriend, but Hitler. This joke is clever because the humor still comes from being raped, but it also makes rape look bad. The only person that can be justifiably raped is someone who orchestrated the deaths of some 12 million people. In this situation rape is put on the same level of evil as Hitler.

Another Louis CK joke:

You should never rape anyone. Unless you have a reason, like you want to fuck someone and they won't let you. In which case, what other option do you have? How else are you supposed to have an orgasm in their body if you don't rape 'em... like what the fuck?

I think that this is the best kind of rape joke because it targets rapists. He makes rapists look totally unreasonable and unjustified. He's making fun of people who rape instead of making fun of the people getting raped.

TL;DR Rape jokes that laugh at people getting raped are bad. Rape jokes that make fun of rapists are good.

Nomenimion · 2014-05-11T00:36:53+00:00

I think rape jokes are best described as satire, and satire often doesn't sit well, which is the purpose of satire. The problem with rape jokes in particular is that they supposedly contribute to "rape culture", or a normalization of the concept of rape into acceptability.

The problem with this perspective is a complete (probably intentional) misunderstanding that anyone who isn't psychologically damaged will abhor rape on an subconscious level. That's why damn near everyone is uncomfortable when rape is discussed in any way.

Rape jokes highlight that rape is a horrible thing by bringing out that feeling of discomfort. The advocacy against rape jokes is a strictly political agenda (as objection to satire tends to be) that might even be counterproductive if the underlying goal is avoiding "rape culture".

I don't think we're really capable of falling into a rape culture at this point, but sweeping the issue under the rug because someone might feel uncomfortable would be a good starting point if one wants to override the societal distaste of rape.

skinnybignose · 2014-05-11T09:05:31+00:00

A joke about a disgusting, hideous crime only works because it's disgusting and hideous, that's how comedy works. If rape was something that people thought was acceptable and normal, then rape jokes wouldn't be funny at all and wouldn't be told. So in a way, the fact that people tell rape jokes and many people find them funny, is a good thing because it tells us that the general consensus is that rape is a very bad thing. You may not necessarily agree that rapes jokes are funny, but it may help to understand how comedy works and why some people do find them funny.

Just to give an example of how this works, here's a sick joke (not about rape). How do you get a baby in a jar? A blender. How do you get it out again? Doritos. Some people may find this funny some may not, but the question is, why do some find it funny? Is it because there's a baby blending and eating culture that normalizes the practice? No, of course not, it's because it is disgusting.

Prefer_Not_To_Say · 2014-05-11T11:20:10+00:00

I've heard plenty of rape jokes from comedians, although nobody I know. The problem is that comedians make jokes mocking religion, disability, race, sex, death, etc. So why on earth is rape off-limits?

27monkeys · 2014-05-11T20:08:38+00:00

In my life the only rape jokes I have heard in the last 10 yrs (maybe five) were all from women. Just saying

BlueDoorFour · 2014-05-12T01:27:44+00:00

For the rape jokes that circulate among non-comedians, I tend to put them in the category of "shockingly horrible," like dead baby, holocaust, or racist jokes. The point isn't to make fun of a group, but to play for shock. It's in the same vein of humor as the famous Aristocrats joke. If you laugh, it's because a seemingly innocent premise has led to a horrible yet clever outcome.

The exception to this rule, I've found, is the "don't drop the soap" joke. This one is so common it was even sneaked into a Spongebob Squarepants episode. The humor there isn't from shock of something unquestionably awful; it's an "oh yep, because that's what happens!" kind of attitude. The laugh isn't of shock but of recognition.

I don't particularly like this style of humor, and I think rape jokes should usually be avoided because there are so many living with that trauma that won't find it funny. That being said, I don't think they're corrupting our society into one that condones rape any more than dead baby jokes actually encourages infanticide.

unbannable9412 · 2014-05-11T00:58:52+00:00

Rape jokes are no different from any other joke about human suffering.

It's typically a way of coping with the morbidity of such events or the joke is delivered in such a way you can't help but think it funny.

That said a joke about rape doesn't diminish the severity of the crime itself anymore than a fictitious depiction does.

But of course there are many feminists who even think the fictitious depiction of rape is "problematic"(be wary of people who use this word), typically even alongside gratuitous acts of violence.

Game of Thrones for example.

The show is one gory death after another, usually men.

One scene where a woman is raped and people lose their collective shit.

UtahStateAgnostics · 2014-05-11T00:49:54+00:00

George Carlin

karldcampbell · 2014-05-11T00:55:20+00:00

I don't think it's rape jokes per se that are deemed offensive, but jokes (in general) where the victim is a woman. No-one seems particularly outraged when a joke is made about prison rape, or when a man wakes up in a strange bed after a night on the town. But make a nervous quip about a during a demo ( "just let it happen, it’ll be over soon", google that phrase if you are unfamiliar), and suddenly you are the scum of the earth.

Edit: Spelling

ThePigmanAgain · 2014-05-11T01:09:35+00:00

Not too keen on any jokes about serious acts of violence, myself. Also, i can't even think of a single rape joke -- unless it's about men in prison, those are pretty common but i don't suppose the feminists are talking about those rape jokes.

Capitalsman · 2014-05-11T00:52:43+00:00

I've heard more jokes aimed at men than women, in personal settings not a stand up comedian telling jokes, like when at a pool party with men and women drinking vodka, doing body shots and so on, all the guys are joking about raping one another but not the women. Hell, one girl even got pissed off one of the guys refused to have sex with her because we all were drinking. So through my own personal experiences there is no rape culture that involves women.

But I've heard jokes about 9/11 and soldiers from comedians and soldiers, and Faux Nooz pitches a fit if you joke about those two things. If a comedian is just making broad jokes about the subject whats the matter? If he find out someone in the audience was a rape victim and he starts targeting the jokes at that victim just because, then it's a problem. To me where that gets a little grey is if the victim is heckling the comedian and won't shut up and let him continue his show, then a comedian will insult the person until they sit down and shut up or leave so the rest of the people can enjoy the show.

I always recommend this when the subject comes up. Notice how the feminist isn't above making rape jokes, like when she labels a comedy club and all the MEN inside a rapist filled rape zone. And thinks men will rape a woman because a comedian told them to.

Title	Rape jokes?
Author	LoudHydraulics
Upvotes	0
Comments	26
Date	May 11, 2014 12:15 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/258uhn/rape_jokes/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/rape-jokes.1000809 https://theredarchive.com/post/1000809

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