# "Dumb man" jokes--lame rant **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 4, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542 "2004-06-04T00:14:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/41 "2004-06-04T17:56:54Z")
Is “frigidity” an actual medical condition? And I hardly think that a limp dick is comparable to cancer. Has anyone ever died from impotence? ---
**Author:** ![P\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a587f6/32.png) [@P\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P_T)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/42 "2004-06-04T18:06:13Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > I’ve called people on the carpet on this board for throwing Viagra comments around casually, and they’re always completely oblivious to it. Impotence is a serious problem for anyone who suffers from it, and shouldnt be snickered at. So. Impotent huh? Yes, I realize I’m about to get hammered for this but I just couldn’t resist. Oh, and I have tried Viagra too, for a brief time. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/43 "2004-06-04T18:08:14Z")
He guess what, this’ll make you guys laugh your fucking heads off…a lot of guys are on Viagra because of depression or anxiety and their meds affect their sexual response. HEY HEY! Let’s make fun of guys for that! It can only make them feel 10000 times better! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/44 "2004-06-04T18:10:43Z")
I’m a straight woman who has gone through occasional periods (Ha!) of being angry at all mankind, but even at those times, male-bashing has always made me a bit uncomfortable. I don’t call myself “offended”, and I can appreciate a well-crafted joke, but I have always felt that that kind of humor was not going to improve the state of relations between men and women. Good on you for bringing it up, **Mixie**. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/45 "2004-06-04T18:14:12Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > HEY HEY! Let’s make fun of guys for that! It can only make them feel 10000 times better! How’s about we don’t and just assume that the people who do are ignorant rubes? You know, just like the people who make fun of all men or all women or all blacks or all gays or all whatever? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/46 "2004-06-04T18:24:56Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Is “frigidity” an actual medical condition? > > And I hardly think that a limp dick is comparable to cancer. Has anyone ever died from impotence? Frigidity is a medical condition. It’s proper medical name is sexual arousal disorder. And I wasn’t comparing the severity of medical conditions here. I was, however, referencing disorders exclusively suffered by women, for comparison’s sake. The difference, of course, is those conditions aren’t a proper topic of humor in polite company. Impotence is a barrel of laughs to some people, though. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/47 "2004-06-04T18:26:50Z")
It all seems to come down to two different camps. Camp one: Jokes that imply all men are dumb and incompetent is a stupid cliche. Not all men are dumb and incompetent. In fact, most men aren’t dumb and incompetent. As far as stereotypes go, it’s not even accurate for most of the population being stereotyped. I would be offended if any group were stereotyped based on a trait that obviously isn’t really a trait of even a majority of the group. Camp two: It’s a joke. Those few men that are dumb and incompetent make us laugh. Besides, men have been the one making the jokes for years. About time they got their comeuppance. The two camps seems split by the degree of offensiveness that each side gives to the propogation of the stereotype about the ignorant man. Some people think that any stereotype is bad, and a way to belittle others. Others think that, as far as stereotypes go, the big, dumb man cliche isn’t all that big of a deal, and certainly not as offensive as many other stereotypes. I would suggest that stereotypes, and the tired cliches they produce, are not a good thing, but that, as far as stereotypes go, the big, dumb man stereotype is pretty low on the totem pole. The dumb man joke isn’t funny, in my opinion, and has become very overused, but others are free to disagree. (Upon previewing this, I think I could have thrown in the word “Stereotype” another 5 or 6 times. Sheesh.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/48 "2004-06-04T19:32:30Z")
> [@Siddhartha Vicious](#): > > I would suggest that stereotypes, and the tired cliches they produce, are not a good thing, but that, as far as stereotypes go, the big, dumb man stereotype is pretty low on the totem pole. The dumb man joke isn’t funny, in my opinion, and has become very overused, but others are free to disagree. I mostly agree with this, except that I think both the rudeness of the jokes and the subtle undermining they do of feminism are both problems. People comparing telling dumb man jokes to telling homophobic (for instance) jokes have got the wrong comparison: the right comparison is to **not** telling dumb man jokes. In the same way that calling someone a skanky ho isn’t as bad as beating them up and taking their wallet, telling a dumb man joke isn’t as bad as telling a homophobic joke. That doesn’t make it okay to call someone a skanky ho or to tell a dumb man joke. There is one dumb man joke that I like, though, and it’s good for a very specific, retributive occasion: Q. Why are blonde jokes so short? A. So men can remember them. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/49 "2004-06-04T20:25:03Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > … I’m not saying it’s offensive to everyone (although it really is to me because it’s an INSULT TO MY HUSBAND DIOGENES. My man is not a bastard), but also: It’s JUST NOT FUNNY. > > It’s like telling “Why did the chicken cross the road” jokes 59 times over. When I read “MY HUSBAND DIOGENES”, I did a double take. “Since when is **jarbaby** married to **Diogenes**!? Man I really got to keep of SDMB events.” :eek: But I see I was just misreading the post. heh. On topic: Lame man jokes don’t really offend me, but they are pretty tiresome. People have been poking fun at pompous white males since “The Honeymooners”, and it takes a good comedian to come up with fresh material on that premise. I liked Tim Allen’s stand up routine - but his sitcom got old pretty quickly. I hate to jump on the old “political correctness sucks” bandwagon, but I believe the PC movement has made it too dangerous to make jokes about any other ethnic group. Want to write jokes about human shortcomings? Don’t feel like worrying about that “dangerous line between funny satire and outright offense,” as Asimov put it? Easy solution: recycle those stale jokes picking on white males. Cue laugh track. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/50 "2004-06-04T20:33:28Z")
Yes, Diogenes and I had a gorgeous wedding at the Hall of Crime Wax Museum in Niagra Falls. We went to Arbys for an informal reception 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/51 "2004-06-04T20:34:54Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > The point is that when people wear shirts that say “Boys Lie” or Diogenes says most men are bastards, that’s unfair to my husband who doesn’t lie and is not a bastard and deserves more credit than that. Nor does my husband shirk chores, or spend time in the bathroom to get away from my nagging voice :rolleyes:. My husband and I are best friends, married almost ten years and I don’t go for stereotypes that depict him as otherwise. I get these jokes all the time from women in my email groups. I don’t find them funny either, basically because my fiance is a great guy who does his share of the housework, makes me laugh a LOT, and spends most of his free time in my company - by choice. (But don’t even get me started on the whole ‘He’ll change once you’re married - wait and see!’ people…grrr…) One thing I’ve noticed is that many of the women who seem to send these jokes are the ones who are fairly unhappy in their marriages and vent about their husbands often. They’re also the ones who replied “My condolences” to the email telling them I was getting married. :rolleyes: . It bothers me. My fiance is just as capable as I am of doing things around the house - there are times I get frustrated when he doesn’t know how to do something, but that’s not cluelessness, that’s because he’s never lived in a house or an apartment where some of these things are necessary! I’m not going to rag on him or other men because of it. My email delete button is wonderful. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/52 "2004-06-04T20:47:43Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I mostly agree with this, except that I think both the rudeness of the jokes and the subtle undermining they do of feminism are both problems. People comparing telling dumb man jokes to telling homophobic (for instance) jokes have got the wrong comparison: the right comparison is to **not** telling dumb man jokes. > > In the same way that calling someone a skanky ho isn’t as bad as beating them up and taking their wallet, telling a dumb man joke isn’t as bad as telling a homophobic joke. That doesn’t make it okay to call someone a skanky ho or to tell a dumb man joke. I see an offensiveness spectrum. For me, the dumb man jokes are toward the inoffensive end. Calling someone a skanky ho and telling homophobic jokes are far more rude, and are way over on the other side of the spectrum. I genuinely don’t see the dumb man jokes as being rude, just…well…dumb. Granted, the OP doesn’t tell what jokes she heard, so they very well may be rude in my opinion. But as a rule, I don’t find them rude or offensive, just played out. And, with all due respect, I don’t get how they would subtly undermine feminism. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/53 "2004-06-04T21:19:39Z")
> [@Siddhartha Vicious](#): > > I genuinely don’t see the dumb man jokes as being rude, just…well…dumb. Granted, the OP doesn’t tell what jokes she heard, so they very well may be rude in my opinion. But as a rule, I don’t find them rude or offensive, just played out. Huh. If I tell a joke that says, “A group you belong to is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? If I tell a joke that says, “Someone you love is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? > [@](#): > > And, with all due respect, I don’t get how they would subtly undermine feminism. I guess what I’d say to this is would be > [@](#): > > 1. They give comfort to anti-female men. If you’re working to break down sexist barriers in society (and I fully believe that most sexism in our society works to the detriment of women), it’s incredibly unhelpful to have women telling anti-male jokes. The anti-female men can look at those jokes and say, “See? Everybody does it! Women are just like guys in that respect, and there’s no reason for me to change what I’m doing!” In other words, just jokes undermine feminist efforts. “Do as I say, not as I do” is not a clarion battle cry for a political movement. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/54 "2004-06-04T21:52:21Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Huh. If I tell a joke that says, “A group you belong to is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? If I tell a joke that says, “Someone you love is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? Well, if it’s a joke. . . Actually, I’ve written about a dozen different posts detailing why I don’t think it would be rude, but I’ve deleted them all. You’re right. It would be rude. I was wrong when I said it wouldn’t be. But this isn’t black and white. There isn’t simply rude and not rude. The degree of rudeness is, in my opinion only, slight when it comes to jokes about men. Essentially, every joke in which a particular group’s perceived shortcomings is the punchline is a way of saying “a group you belong to is stupid and contemptible.” But, it’s still a joke. I think that one should look at the teller of the joke, the audience, and most importantly, the subject that the joke ridicules to determine the degree of rudeness or offensiveness of the joke. A joke at the expense of homosexuals as a group will most likely be perceived as offensive. A joke about men as a group will most likely not be perceived in such a way. It’s most likely because (in my opinion) a joke about men would likely be seen as more light-hearted and tongue in cheek than a joke about gays. Of course, analyzing every joke like that sure sucks the fun out of telling jokes. 😉 And I do understand now how dumb men jokes could undermine feminism. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/55 "2004-06-04T22:39:54Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Huh. If I tell a joke that says, “A group you belong to is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? If I tell a joke that says, “Someone you love is stupid and contemptible!” how is that possibly not rude? Pretty lame ass joke there. Not funny at all. As a matter of fact, itr sounds down right hostile. How does your extreme simplification apply to the examples I mentioned above of say Asimov telling Jewish jokes? Or Scotch jokes fo rthat matter? Is that rude too? Is it rude for my friend Mrs H to go on about the various aspects of the Jewish caricature that she shares? Should I tell her that she’s being rude? ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/56 "2004-06-05T01:03:14Z")
> [@Siddhartha Vicious](#): > > I see an offensiveness spectrum. For me, the dumb man jokes are toward the inoffensive end. Calling someone a skanky ho and telling homophobic jokes are far more rude, and are way over on the other side of the spectrum. > > I genuinely don’t see the dumb man jokes as being rude, just…well…dumb. Granted, the OP doesn’t tell what jokes she heard, so they very well may be rude in my opinion. But as a rule, I don’t find them rude or offensive, just played out. > > And, with all due respect, I don’t get how they would subtly undermine feminism. You’re certainly right in that they don’t infuriate me the way they would if someone were sending out racist jokes, it’s a far lower level of vitrol. I find them mildly offensive. The offense I feel in response to hearing a male-bashing joke is equal to the irritation I feel at the women telling them–I always want to ask them how they’d feel standing around listening to a bunch of men telling sexist jokes directed at women. As far as subtly undermining feminism, that’s part of the reason I’m offended at the women passing these jokes around. With the huge social strides women have made towards equality in all spectrums of society, it pisses me off that they’d turn around and piss that away by treating men the way that women always demand _not_ to be treated. Tired cliche and all, but I do well and truly believe that people should treat others as they wish to be treated. I respect those around me and wish to be respected in return. Part of earning respect is treating others well, that’s all. Um, also, it’s a tired punchline, and just not funny. I can picture those “dumb daddy” commercials striking a chord with people when a woman’s work in the home began to be recognized, and women were recognized as being capable in that sphere–I can picture the joke being “hey, look, there’s this whole world that women control, something women are better at than men!” And of course, thirty, forty, fifty years ago the punchline would still have applied. Now? Plenty of couples, nearing most, I’d imagine, share the housework equally. The joke just doesn’t apply anymore, and aside from being pretty damn tired, it’s also inaccurate and fails to recognize the equalizing roles between the sexes, at home. I can’t imagine that belittling a man’s efforts at caring for his children and helping with housework is really all that helpful in encouraging and supporting his role in the same. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/57 "2004-06-05T01:53:05Z")
I don’t really like man-bashing jokes, but I shrug them off and go about my business. I do tend to think of the the joke tellers as bitter, man-hating shrews though. I’m really posting here to ask **Left Hand Of Dorkness** a question: Do you think organizations like MADD and NOW are still serving their initial purpose, or have they started to generate too much backlash? When you you feel like you’ve ridden the horse too far? I’m only asking because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately, and I wonder if men might not be a “safe” target any more? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/58 "2004-06-05T02:29:04Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > The lesson the counselors wanted us to learn was not to judge other cultures so quickly, that what looked sexist from the outside might actually have really good reasons. “But wait a second!” I protested. “It’s still sexist; it’s just sexist against guys now!” Funny, I’ve often thought something fairly similar about the “dumb husband can’t do laundry” type commercials – they’re sexist against _women_. They’re _also_ sexist against men (“Ha ha, those silly men can’t perform simple household tasks!”), but isn’t the ultimate message of these commercials that a woman’s place is in the kitchen? Aren’t they saying that it’s a woman’s duty and responsibility to cook, clean, and care for children so her husband will be free to pursue appropriately “manly” activities? It’s not as simple as “women good, men bad”, it’s “women good at traditionally feminine activities, men bad at traditionally feminine activities”. That’s the sort of sexism that hurts both sexes. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/59 "2004-06-05T16:42:54Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Funny, I’ve often thought something fairly similar about the “dumb husband can’t do laundry” type commercials – they’re sexist against _women_. They’re _also_ sexist against men (“Ha ha, those silly men can’t perform simple household tasks!”), but isn’t the ultimate message of these commercials that a woman’s place is in the kitchen? Aren’t they saying that it’s a woman’s duty and responsibility to cook, clean, and care for children so her husband will be free to pursue appropriately “manly” activities? It’s not as simple as “women good, men bad”, it’s “women good at traditionally feminine activities, men bad at traditionally feminine activities”. That’s the sort of sexism that hurts both sexes. I think it’s a mistake to interpret these sorts of things as statements about either how reality is or how things should be. I doubt if the creators of these commercials think these sorts of things about men and women and their roles or that they expect the viewers too. There’s no reason to expect the commercials to be accurate representations of reality nor representations of an ideal reality. That’s not what commercials nor jokes are about. These caricatures are well known. That’s why they’re used. You don’t have time to develop character in a thirty second spot. Don’t havet he time to develop character in a two minute joke. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542/60 "2004-06-05T16:44:29Z")
How have the commercials you’ve cited have hurt anybody? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-man-jokes-lame-rant/248542.md?page=4)