Joking and power

Abstract

Abstract First, this chapter discusses the importance of belittling humor in communicating ideology that supports unjust social disadvantage, since explicit expressions of racism have become increasingly unacceptable. Second, it considers how disparaging humor can undermine powerful people, and thus how it is sometimes a force for good. However, it cautions that humor about powerful people is belittling if it transmits ideas about a disadvantaged social group to which the powerful person belongs—such as people who have a disability or who are obese. Furthermore, in some contexts even disparaging humor should be avoided, e.g., when the target is a newcomer to a group. Finally, it considers J. L. Austin’s reasons for excluding jokes from his theory of speech acts. Jokes are locutionary and perlocutionary acts, and the chapter argues that Austin gives no principled reason for supposing that they cannot be illocutionary acts as well.