Daniel Tosh is a
comedian. Last week, he made a rape joke. It wasn't funny. A female
audience member called him on it ('Rape jokes are never funny'). He
responded with a gang-rape joke, directed at the audience member ('Wouldn't it
be funny if, like, 5 guys...').
The interwebs have been having a field day with this,
both on the 'rape: so funny' and the 'rape: bad' side of things. I think
the whole discussion makes for interesting reading. Here is my take on
it. In common with other terrible things, rape can be a legitimate
subject matter for jokes. Turns out, lots of people not only agree, but
have gone to the trouble of identifying the features of rape jokes that they
(comedians / writers / interested observers) see as influencing whether a
particular joke about the subject 'works'.
Jezebel: How to Make a Rape
Joke
Gin &
Tacos: The
Subtle Art of Not Being an Asshole
Kate Harding: Rape Jokes
that Work
Needless to say, Daniel Tosh fails by the standards of
all the above linked commentators.
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