The other night I was watching some comedy show with my housemate. Predictably there were a number of sexist jokes, including reference to sexual assault, which I expressed my frustration at. As expected, there were numerous gags to come which weren't particularly inclusive either yet, for some reason, I didn't find these quite so offensive. Of course my housemate picked up on this.
There are certain things I feel incredibly passionately about, particularly feminism, however I am more than happy for my views to be challenged. It's important to be reminded of why you believe certain things as opposed to just following the (feminist) crowd and picking up on the latest buzzwords.
So why, as I've recently been asked, are we allowed to laugh at jokes about all manner of tragic things, such as murder, yet rape humour remains, well, plain unfunny? What sets sexual assault aside as a subject which should not be made light of? And there is your answer! Sexual assault is made light of every single day. Yes we may joke about murder however society seems pretty on board with the fact that this is a big no-no. When it comes to rape, on the other hand, people still appear to struggle with some pretty basic definitions.
I'm sometimes accused of being too nice (yeah that threw me as well) when I jump to someone's defence but people are missing the point. This isn't about me. If you pull someone up on an offensive joke you're not being a prude/politically correct/overly sensitive. You're making a stand against those people who think it's okay to play out such 'jokes' in real life. Because they do exist and people will continue to defend them. Don't make it any easier for them by coaxing others to laugh at such scenarios.
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