L
sexist
humour
by
Pam
Rogers
Recently
at
UBC
there
has
been
a
painful
confrontation
between
the
male
and
female
idea
of
a
joke.
Protesters
and
media
interrupted
500
students'
home
lives
with
demonstrations
and
interrogations
over
whatahandful
of
men
thought
were
nothing
more
than
a
few
jokes,
a
bit
sick
perhaps,
but
jokes
nonetheless.
These
jokes,
the
men
explained,
are
part
of
a
healthy
ongoing
exchange
between
two
rival
dormitories
(one
male
and
the
other
female),
entitled
"Who
can
be
the
most
gross
by
the
end
of
the
term?"
How
ever,
when
the
dirty
laundry
was
sifted
through
and
aired,
lumps
of
the
most
dis
gusting
nature
fell
out
of
the
men's
short;.
It
became
clear
when
the
stench
cleared,
that
the
women's
idea
of
gross
humour
and
the
men's
idea
of
gross
humour
diffeied
significantly.
Why
is
it
that
men's
and
women's
senses
of
humour
diverge
when
joking
about
themselves?
Can
it
be
reduced
to
the
fact
that
one
joker
is,
has
ben,
and
continues
to
be
physically
more
powerful
than
the
other
joker?
Power
is
intciesting
stuff.
It
seens
that
it
is
impossible
for
those
in
power
to
imagine
what
it
would
be
like
to
give
up
and
be
without
that
power.
It's
sort
of
like
trying
to
imagine
having
hemorrhoids
if
you
have
never
had
them.
It's
sort
of
like
trying
to
tell
someone
about
the
greatest
movie
you
ever
saw.
In
spite
of
eloquent
articulation,
you
end
up
saying,
"aw,
you
to
have
been
there!"
It's
sort
of
like
trying
to
explain
to
someone
who
has
not
given
birth
how
incredible
you
feel
when
you
know
that
little
person
is
growing
inside
of
you,
that
your
body
is
creating
life.
Powerful
stuff.
I
Power
separates
us;
shared
experiences
unite
us.
Enjoyment
is
fragile
and
ever
present
in
any
humour,
especially
jokes
thatemphasize
my
weaknesses
(it's
okay
if
they
emphasizeyour
weaknesses).
It
seems
impossible
for
men
to
imagine
what
it
must
feel
like
for
women
to
be
on
the
end
of
their
tasteless
jokes;
they
are
so
affronted
when
women
say
"Stop
that
shit."
At
UBC
young
men
wrote
notes
that
depicted
the
ultimate
in
"humour"
having
sex
with
a
12-year-old
and
then
(the
best
part)
killing
her.
Or
how
does
this
note
sound:
crushing
a
woman's
pelvis.
Boy,
that
sure
is
some
funny
stuff.
For
contrast,
the
women's
humour
consisted
of
jelly
beans
rolled
under
their
rival's
doors
and
lewd
notes
pinned
to
a
pair
of
gaunch
in
the
privacy
of
one
woman's
room
The
UBC
men
seem
to
have
a
graphic
head
start
in
tfllliis"fun"
game.
These
jokes
are
no
different
;Hjlhan
the
ones
that
mildly
attack
women.
It's
aiall
the
same.
A
big
putdown
or
a
little
putdown
they
both
hurt.
For
me,
the
saddest
part
of
the
story
wasthewomen'sreactions.Somedefended
fthemen
and
attacked
the
protestors:
"These
uslguys
are
just
having
fun
with
us!"
You
will
3"f5ee
women
defend
men's
indecent
attitudes
everyday;
in
fact
you
may
be
doing
so
right
l
this
minute.
I
have
had
best
friends
say
to
Ime,
My
wite
doesn
t
trunk
that
I
m
a
chauvinist,
why
do
you?"
or,
"It
was
just
a
poke,
lighten
up!"
I
too,
have
defended
men.
I
have
said,
"He
didn't
mean
to
hit
so
hard,
he
was
just
I.
.
.shouldn't
have
made
him
so
mad."
lOurpoint
of
view
is
often
male,
not
female,
we
think
like
men.
We
must
strive
to
Have
a
female
point
of
view.
History,
lit-
Isature,
life
in
general,
omits
women.
If
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you
don't
believe
me,
the
next
time
you
read
anything
substitute
the
word
woman
for
man.
Or
try
to
imagine
a
woman
doing
what
you
attribute
to
a
man.
You
will
feel
funny.
That
funny
feeling
is
not
humour,
it
is
a
small
discovery
that
something
is
not
quite
right.
You
may
even
laugh
nervously,
which
brings
us
back
to
the
issue
of
humour.
Funk
&
Wagnell's
Canadian
College
Dictionary
says
that
humour
is
the
quality
of
anything
that
is
or
seems
to
be
funny
,
or
appeals
to
the
comic
sense.
Yet
reading
on,
related
to
physiology,
humour
becomes
a
chronic
skin
eruption
caused
by
bad
blood.
Oh!
This
is
getting
interestingly
wanner.
An
even
more
ancient
definition
declares
humour
to
be
either
blood,
phlegm,
choler
(yellow
bile)
or
melancholy
(black
bile)
which
were
believed
to
influence
temperaments.
Ah...
cooking
the
stew
of
human
juices.
Bile,
phlegm,
skin
eruptions
perhaps
men
really
do
have
a
sense
of
humour
when
it
comes
to
women.
They
wrote
the
dictionary,
didn't
they?
Pam
Rogers
is
a
former
CNC
student
currently
attending
UBC.
GetatutefotQake!
each
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Political
Corner
by
James
Peterson
Due
to
the
mild
arguments
toward
defeating
socialism
put
in
the
last
"Political
Comer"
there
have
been
some
changes
made.
The
originator
of
this
article
was
depose1
and
replaced
by
myself
(A
radical
Liberal
supporter).
"Fair
Taxes?"
I
was
talking
to
a
female
student
the
other
day
and
she
told
me
her
views
on
what
a
politician
was.
She
saw
the
Socreds
as
a
bunch
of
rich
businessmen
in
brand
new
suits
with
white
shirts.
However,
she
also
said
these
businessmen
had
"dirty
collars."
She
viewed
the
NDP
politicians
as
the
left
over
"hippies
from
the
sixties,"
a
view
I
personally
agree
with.
She
said
they
cut
their
hair
a
bit
and
found
a
"suit
that
fits."
Are
these
the
same
"leftovers
from
the
sixties"
that
are
making
it
dangerous
for
loggers
by
stringing
fishing
line
among
the
trees?
Are
these
the
people
we
want
in
power
in
the
next
provincial
government?
In
a
recent
interview
with
the
NDP
finance
critic
the
topic
of
"fair
taxes"
was
expressed.
What
is
a
fair
tax?
If
you
ask
most
tax-payers
they
will
tell
you
that
no
tax
is
a
fair
tax,
especially
the
new
GST.
The
NDP
says
that
they
will
put
a
tuition
fee
freeze
on
university
tuitions
for
the
four
years
they
would
be
in
power
if
they
got
elected.
They
also
said
they
would
put
more
money
into
post-secondary
institutions.
Before
youstartcheeringandpraising
the
NDP
you
had
best
consider
where
this
money
will
be
coming
from.
They
estimate
that
they
will
lose
$8
million
dollarsyear
compounded
from
putting
the
tuition
freeze
into
effect.
This
doesn't
even
account
for
the
monies
that
they
have
promised
to
post-secondary
institutions
and
other
programs.
Glen
Clark
told
me
that
the
NDP
government
would
get
these
monies
by
cutting
the
"fiscal
incompetence"
the
existing
Socred
government
now
has
in
place.
They
would
also
reinstate
some
corporate
taxes
that
"Wild
Bill
Vander
Zalm"
eliminated
to
keepB.C.
out
of
the
recession
that
is
hitting
the
rest
of
Canada
so
hard.
Clark
also
said
it
was
"acceptable
to
have
small
deficits"
to
pay
for
programs.
I
know
I
don't
like
paying
the
interest
for
deficits.
Do
you?