Memo to Daniel Tosh: Rape is nothing to joke about

By now, the episode of comedian Daniel Tosh making rape jokes has circulated the world 50 times over, and has drawn critiques from two different camps: the "it's just comedy, lighten up" camp, and the "some things should never be joked about ever" camp.

As for me, I never had a high opinion of the guy to begin with. I've learned to have very, very low expectations for 90% of the world's celebrities because, let's face it, most of them are good only for entertaining us. Few of them are lauded for making the world a better place. I've only watched half an episode of Tosh.0 because I was bored one evening and decided to flip some channels. I watched for a few minutes and thought "Okay, so he's just a low-grade, stereotypical frat boy humor kind of comedian." I never thought about the show again until an article featured on the Got Consent? Facebook page tipped me off.

Since then, I've been thinking about the nature of comedy itself: why do we tell oppressive jokes? A better question: why do we find oppressive jokes funny?

I'm a firm believer in being able to make fun of one's self. Sometimes, that includes poking fun at certain cultural and/or ethnic groups. In general, I don't see anything wrong with that (so long as the person making the joke actually belongs to said culture/ethnic group). I think there are tasteful ways to use humor to promote social examination of serious issues. That being said, there are some lines that should not be crossed when it comes to comedy. When the end result of a joke is further oppression, and further promotion of already existing stereotypes, the joke is no longer funny. It's cruel.

But before you go on to accuse me of stomping on the First Amendment, consider the effect that rape jokes, like those made by Daniel Tosh, have on a society that is already poisoned by rape culture. It's very similar to the reason it's generally frowned upon to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

For those who haven't already heard, here is what happened: Tosh makes a series of generalizing comments about rape jokes being hilarious. A woman in the crowd is outraged, and calls him out in the middle of the show: "Actually, rape is never funny!" So Tosh fires back "Wouldn't it be hilarious if, like, five guys just raped her right now?" Maniacal laughter ensues. Needless to say, the woman who spoke up felt justifiably terrified.You may be thinking that the likelihood of a gang rape occurring in the middle of a comedy act is next to zero, but whether the threat of violence was real or not doesn't matter: the reality is, that comment was meant to "put her in her place," so to speak. And it did...the woman ran straight for the nearest exit.

Now, here are the reasons (I think) why such derogatory content is never, ever funny:

It completely trivializes a devastating, life-altering event. I don't see how making a joke about rape being hilarious is any different than saying lynch mobs or concentration camps are hilarious. This goes beyond hurting someone's feelings; it can trigger PTSD.


It promotes the stereotype that rape only happens to women. Just think for a moment what would have happened if it was a man who stood up to Tosh instead of a woman. I can only guess that there were plenty of people in the audience that night who thought "Of course a woman would find this offensive!" Something tells me that a man who stood up would have had his masculinity questioned. Because men never get assaulted (just ask Jerry Sandusky).

It could justify further violence. Just to be clear, if a woman was raped outside the set of Tosh.0, Daniel Tosh is not to be held liable. I know that words don't rape people. At the same time, a man with that kind of influence is not doing potential victims any favors by perpetuating a "She was asking for it" mentality. She interrupted a comedy show? She's "asking" to get raped. She wore a short skirt to a club? She clearly wants to get laid. She left her drink unattended? She should have known what was coming to her. There may not be direct causation between Tosh's jokes and men who go and commit rape, but there is definite correlation.

Those are just a handful of reasons why violence of any kind is completely inappropriate fodder for comedy. However, Daniel Tosh is far from being the only symptom of what is wrong with society's response to rape. Daniel Tosh made those jokes because he knew it's what his audience called for; he knew it would boost his ratings. We are the ones who created this culture where making fun of violence is okay.

So what are we going to do about it?