Gori the Grey
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Isn't that pretty much always the case in blonde jokes?
Men's humor
- Thread starter Pegasus_77
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Isn't that pretty much always the case in blonde jokes?
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
Insofar as "blonde" reads as "stupid woman", you could say that the character's blondness is incidental to the structure of the joke, but it's still crucial to the telling of it: it's how it is communicated that the character is stupid. In this case, it could as easily have read "brunette" or "bald man" or "South American tree porcupine" and it wouldn't have made a difference.
Ooooh i love anti jokes!
Yo mama so fat, that her husband has lost sexual interest in her and now they are having problems with there marriage!
2 blondes walk into a bar. They take a seat at a table. They didn't have any drinks but they had a good time.
So borarchio you're saying that if you saw two gay men going at it, you wouldn't think its a little weird? Either way, I think now we are just digressing with that.
I guess whoever the guy that wrote the response about how a lot of successful stand up comedians were guys and how I kinda feel that guys should be the goofy ones summed up how I felt. But, ya know, all guys got different opinions on a women. Some like pretty women, some couldn't mind what they look like. I guess I like women that don't make jokes too often and you'd rather they joke a lot.
I wonder what a women would say if she saw this thread.
Gori the Grey
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Well, then it's crucial to onejayhawk's joke (as I understand it). We're supposed to think we're starting a normal dumb blonde joke; then there's the reversal, where this supposed dumb blonde turns out to be smarter than that loan officer who watched her car for 90 days for just $183.28. The joke's on us for thinking it was going to be a dumb blonde joke.
Re-read post #2: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=13282650&postcount=2
and please note that of all the known female CFC members, I'm the one most consistently active in OT, and have been reading this thread.
So far I haven't seen much to laugh at.
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
I get that's what he was trying for, but it doesn't really work. The subversion isn't built into the structure, which is why the exact same joke can be told about somebody else. It's like saying "Why did the Pole cross the road? To get to the other side!" and calling it a subversion of Polak jokes.
Light Cleric
ElCee/LC/El Cid
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It seems to work to me. I just didn't think the joke itself was very funny.
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
I don't think it really does work. The "blonde's" behaviour is perplexing, but not obviously stupid. We assume it's supposed to be stupid because we're familiar with the stereotype of the dumb blonde, but it's not actually there, so we're not making prejudice assumptions that the joke flips around on us, we're deferring to the assumed authority of the joke-teller. When the revelation comes, it doesn't have anything to reveal, because all that happens is the character's blondness is shown to be incidental. All we're actually left with is the basic joke, which as I said functions equally well with "brunette" or anything other descriptor.
We understand what the joke is trying to do with the stereotype of the dumb blonde, so we can fill in the blanks, but the joke isn't actually doing it.
edit: And, yes, I realise this seems like over-thinking it, but I think it's worth clarifying the distinction between subverting a stereotype and merely referring to it. The former creates a joke at the listener's expense by revealing their unconsciously held prejudices- or if the listener is more enlightened, makes a joke at the expense of the culture generally, mocking the fact that such stereotypes exist- but the latter is just a roundabout way of saying that you're aware of the stereotype but to not believe it because you're such a great guy, which is awkward and forced and not even convincing.
Overall, roundabout, does-this-guy-actually-have-a-point point, yes, you could tell a joke that comes under the strict heading of "blonde joke" that is not offensive, but this isn't it, because this isn't a blonde joke.
We understand what the joke is trying to do with the stereotype of the dumb blonde, so we can fill in the blanks, but the joke isn't actually doing it.
edit: And, yes, I realise this seems like over-thinking it, but I think it's worth clarifying the distinction between subverting a stereotype and merely referring to it. The former creates a joke at the listener's expense by revealing their unconsciously held prejudices- or if the listener is more enlightened, makes a joke at the expense of the culture generally, mocking the fact that such stereotypes exist- but the latter is just a roundabout way of saying that you're aware of the stereotype but to not believe it because you're such a great guy, which is awkward and forced and not even convincing.
Overall, roundabout, does-this-guy-actually-have-a-point point, yes, you could tell a joke that comes under the strict heading of "blonde joke" that is not offensive, but this isn't it, because this isn't a blonde joke.
Borachio
Way past lunacy
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I have in the past thought it a little weird to see two guys walking hand-in-hand down the prom (just because it was unusual). But I've got used to it. Nowadays I think it's just as weird to see a heterosexual couple walking hand-in-hand. Why do they do it? Are they afraid they'll lose each other? And don't they find it awkward walking in step like that? I know I would.
If by "going at it" you mean they're having sexual intercourse, I still don't see that as any different from a heterosexual couple "going at it", as far as me not wanting to see it.
Always, always, have a bucket of cold water in your hand for just such an eventuality.
Gori the Grey
The Poster
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No, we assume the blonde's behavior is going to prove to be stupid (like in all other dumb blonde jokes), then it turns out not to be. This joke is taking the old crafty millionaire joke and turning it into a joke on us, spoofing the convention of assuming that a joke that starts out mentioning a blonde is going to be a dumb blonde joke.
And for train masturbators.
Another angle:
So this thread is about the (supposed) fact that men are "better" at humor than women. The prevailing reason for this, both in this thread and in other discussions I've seen always come back to some argument about mating, which has been all but shot down in this thread.
I have a different idea, which may well be wrong, but I'de like to see what people think of it. I think the higher male appreciation of humor both in giving and receiving, has to do with conflict resolution/avoidance. At least in my experience humor seems to be one of if not the best way to defuse a confrontation between men. Very often some offense between men will occur, (spilled drink, perceived insult, conflict over a mate, etc.) and in general humor is the most reliable way of defusing it nonviolently. Especially self-depreciating humor, thus I propose that because of men's historically slightly higher propensity for violence, humor was much more important for defusing it for men than for women. Thus creating a greater male appreciation for humor.
Just a (poorly) fleshed out idea...
So this thread is about the (supposed) fact that men are "better" at humor than women. The prevailing reason for this, both in this thread and in other discussions I've seen always come back to some argument about mating, which has been all but shot down in this thread.
I have a different idea, which may well be wrong, but I'de like to see what people think of it. I think the higher male appreciation of humor both in giving and receiving, has to do with conflict resolution/avoidance. At least in my experience humor seems to be one of if not the best way to defuse a confrontation between men. Very often some offense between men will occur, (spilled drink, perceived insult, conflict over a mate, etc.) and in general humor is the most reliable way of defusing it nonviolently. Especially self-depreciating humor, thus I propose that because of men's historically slightly higher propensity for violence, humor was much more important for defusing it for men than for women. Thus creating a greater male appreciation for humor.
Just a (poorly) fleshed out idea...
Cheetah
Deity
Seems quite reasonable actually.
Then again, I'm also of the belief that humour is a sign of intelligence, and thus a very attractive trait. Which doesn't explain why it should be more selected for primarily among males however: Females are just as much daughters of their fathers as males are sons, and women have just as much need of intelligence as men, so the attractiveness should - is, I'd wager - be just as prominent in women as in men...
Then again, I'm also of the belief that humour is a sign of intelligence, and thus a very attractive trait. Which doesn't explain why it should be more selected for primarily among males however: Females are just as much daughters of their fathers as males are sons, and women have just as much need of intelligence as men, so the attractiveness should - is, I'd wager - be just as prominent in women as in men...
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
See, I don't buy that. That's doing the joke's work for it. "So, she's blonde, and she's doing behaviour which seems peculiar... I guess I'm supposed to assume that her behaviour must be stupid, because she's blonde? That's how these jokes work, right?" It doesn't flow.
Hygro
soundcloud.com/hygro/
.
Blonde and Lamborghini share a significant cultural overlap.
(I thought the joke was funny.)
Of course it does. That's how those jokes work. The punchline of contemporary blonde jokes is often to be a different stupid than the one you expect.
Let me give you a related example a five year old told me, in a different format:
Knock Knock!
Spoiler :
RobAnybody
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My problem with the joke is... it doesn't work that way. Have you ever taken out a loan for a car & the bank keeps your car until you pay off the loan? If you used your car for collateral and then expected to park it in their parking lot, they'd charge you for it.
It's not funny because it doesn't work, independent of who's doing the borrowing. She'd just put up the title, not the car itself.
wah wah[/DebbieDowner]
Gori the Grey
The Poster
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But starting to do a dumb blonde joke's work for it is precisely what we do with dumb blond jokes. And not from the moment that the character starts doing something peculiar, but from the moment that the word "blonde" gets mentioned: "oh, what dumb thing is she going to do this time?" (then in this case, "oh she's doing a peculiar thing; how is that going to turn out to be a dumb peculiar thing?"). Then this joke defeats those expectations, and mocks us for having had them; that's it's way of being funny: by running against convention.
onejayhawk
Afflicted with reason
DING! DING! DING!
We have a winner.
There does need to be a plausible smart story. For example, this is true:
A man opens an account at a small S&L, starting with the $10 minimum. Between Christmas and New Year he deposits $10. Just after New Year he with draws the $10 plus the interest for the year. Each year this pattern is repeated. When the minimum balance goes up, the man brings the balance to just that level. Every year there is one deposit and one withdrawal. After more than 20 years, one of the S&L officers inquires about the account. It turns out that the man is a teller in a bank up the block. He kept the account open because it had a safety deposit box as one of the benefits. At his bank, even though he was employed, he would have needed to rent a box.
It would not work as a blond story, since the behavior is odd, rather than apparently stupid.
J
RobAnybody
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See, there's the problem with the original joke. The actual punchline should have been...
And the loan officer said, "No idea, but surely it's less than the cost of the tow & the impound fees."
Still not terribly funny, but at least it now has a plausible story.
onejayhawk
Afflicted with reason
Not everyone will like a joke. I've told three bankers. They all loved it, so it was plausible enough for them. Clearly not for you.
G the G has it right. The banking procedures are away from the point.
J
