Navigating Sexist Humor: From Tolerance to Confrontation
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.46841/RCV.2026.02.01Mots-clés :
disparagement humor, gender, sexism, gender-based violenceRésumé
This article examines attitudes toward sexist humor across diverse contexts in order to better understand the motivations underlying joke-telling, the consequences for targeted groups, and the strategies individuals may employ to address and confront such humor. Drawing on a review of the literature on disparagement humor, the paper critically engages with the normalization of sexist humor and its consequences at individual, organizational, and societal levels. Building on existing research, the study conducts a secondary data analysis to explore gendered perceptions of tolerance toward inappropriate humor—such as sexually suggestive jokes in university classrooms—using data from the 2022 Gender-Based Violence Barometer. In addition, an analysis of individual-level data from the 2024 Flash Eurobarometer 544 on Romanians’ perceptions of gender stereotypes shows that men’s comments about women’s appearance in the workplace are perceived differently by male and female respondents. The paper concludes by advocating for policy initiatives that support the reporting and confrontation of inappropriate humor in institutional contexts, such as classrooms and workplaces, in order to prevent prejudicial norms from becoming institutionalized. Finally, drawing on the ethics of humor approach advanced by authors such as Smuts (2010), the article calls for greater reflection on the moral foundations of amusement and the ethical criticism of humor.
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Merci de créditer les auteurs lors de toute citation : Romanian Academy Publishing House (2026)
Ce travail est disponible sous la licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International .
