Rationale of the Dirty Joke by G. Legman

G. Legman and the Bawdy Eclectic

A fierce opponent of censorship, Gershon Legman helped legitimize the academic study of erotic folklore as manifested in jokes, limericks, and songs.
Undated broadsheet, Printed Ephemera Collection, Portfolio 23, Folder 11, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. ht

The Rise of Anti-Societies

In the early 1800s, Americans formed all sorts of anti-vice societies, triggering jokes and serious resistance to reform through a wave of anti-societies.
An 18th Century pornographic cartoon featuring Marie Antoinette and the great French General and politician Lafayette, c. 1790

No Joke

Using humor to mask and normalize hatred and bigotry has a long, ugly history.
A circle of white claymation guys around a black claymation guy

Racist Humor: Exploratory Readings

An introduction to the history and theory of racist humor and the social role it plays in Western societies.
Close-up of a Man's smiling mouth

The Laugh Track: Loathe It or Love It

The use of a laugh track began with radio, and was taken up by the new medium of television in 1950. Both viewers and critics have loathed it ever since.
Tom Cruise is sprayed with water during an interview

The Offensive Joke Trap

The audience for a joke has options. They can “support” a joke—for example by laughing at it—or they can respond with “unlaughter."
A dad laughing at his own joke.

The Dubious Art of the Dad Joke

Is it really only dads who can tell dad jokes? And is this corny humor universal? Our linguist takes a deep dive.
Mad Magazine

How Mad Magazine Informed America’s Cultural Critique

When Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD—Humor in a Jugular Vein first erupted onto the streets in 1952, it was like nothing ever seen before.
PG Wodehouse cover

P.G. Wodehouse, Great American Humorist?

Should P.G. Wodehouse, creator of the ditzy Wooster and inimitable Jeeves, be considered an American humorist as well as a master of British farce?
A mother and daughter sitting in the living room together.

The One Thing Parents Really Need

The prologue of Catherine Newman’s new parenting memoir Catastrophic Happiness: Finding Joy in Childhood’s Messy Years, evocatively called ...