Why are funny women threatening to men?

[Orchidflower]

Why do men consider funny women threatening? I never understood this and figured our intelligent men on this board could shed some light on this.

And how could a funny woman threaten a man? Would the man be afraid that the woman could castrate him with a one-liner? Or she would use him as the butt of some of her jokes?

Is a funny woman considered too sharp and quick witted, and, therefore, more threatening to men's sense of superiority or his feeling that he "should" be superior in all--including sharpness and quick witted ways? I, personally, know men who consider a woman who is brighter than them very threatening so know that exists.

I started thinking of this after reading this month's "Men's Health" where they had one of their surveys and this one on comedy, and lo and behold! says that a full 74% of men feel that men are funnier naturally than women. Why? Because a male comedian slants his style towards other men is all I could think of.

Maybe it has to do something with being on a stage and standing "over" the audience is a sign of power and men find a woman up there threatening? Men are "supposed" to be the dominant one and not a woman. Is that it?

Or is it that female comedians have strong personalities which equals threatening to men? Which goes against the stereotype of the innocent lass which so many strippers love to portray (as in have you known many strippers who weren't going to "college"?).

OR is a woman who is naturally funny just un-feminine or not sexy to most men? Maybe it has something to do with the role that some men expect women to play, and by that I mean quiet, demure and not a funny center-of-attention type.

Am I on the right track here at all? Any thoughts? This question had plagued me for years, so time to ask.

 

[W2R]

I do not have a clue! I'm not funny.

 

[bbbamI]

I do not have a clue! I'm not funny.

Me either...

...on second thought, maybe a man feels uncomfortable around a funny woman when she causes him to blow his drink out of his nose.....

 

[calmloki]

dunno - but one of the funniest classmate writers, female, from my college days was in no way attractive to me. Odd thing was she was not at all funny in person, just in print.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Why do men consider funny women threatening?

Interesting. If it were true.

I'm curious on what you're basing this conclusion. If anything, it's the self-important, overly-serious, snarly ones (of either gender, for that matter) who scare the stuffing out of me.

 

[Onward]

I don't think I've ever noticed guys threatened by a female comedian. Women with wealth and power are a different story. Barbara Walters, Hillary Clinton, and Oprah are the first three that come to mind.

 

[Nords]

I think it's great. It's clear that my spouse is smarter and has a better sense of humor than most humans.

After all, she married me.

 

[clifp]

I think has more to do with personality of woman comedian who often come off as abrasive. (So do male comedians). The kinda of folks that you'd love to have a party maybe even have for dinner, but too much exposure would be just annoying.

I can't tell you I've never had a guy say he was dumping a girl because she was too funny. A few because they complained she had no sense of humor, but never the other way around.

 

[RonBoyd]

Why do men consider funny women threatening? I never understood this and figured our intelligent men on this board could shed some light on this.

OR is a woman who is naturally funny just un-feminine or not sexy to most men?

I can't shed any light on this subject because all, with one exception, does not, repeat not, describe my thinking at all. The one exception... Yeah, I guess, Phyliss Diller and Joan Rivers are not all that physically atractive to me -- not even a little, actually. On the other hand, there are some quite attractive female comedians -- Dame Edna, for instance.

 

[donheff]

Orchid: why would you assume men are threatened by funny women simply because a poll says men think men are funnier? Maybe they are just subconsciously reacting to the polls that always seem to portray women as preferring men with a sense of humor: if that's true, wouldn't evolution select for funny guys

 

[HsiaoChu]

I'm not threatened by a woman that is hilarious. But then, I work in an occupation where the only thing we have to stave off certain insanity is humor. Mental health workers and cops are in this category. That's we we have the two kinds of macabre humor: mental health humor and cop humor. Eitehr group that works with a wide population and has to deal with horribly home situations, suicides, death develop humor as a solution or they don't last long, or they become a kind of morose mental handicap themselves.

 

[Onward]

I dig Sarah Silverman!

 

[Amethyst]

The question seemed aimed at men, so I asked my husband. He said he has never felt threatened by any unarmed woman who is not trying to take him to court.

He reckoned if a woman pointed a gun at him and demanded he laugh at her lame jokes, he would feel threatened, and try to comply.

He said he would even put up with knock-knock jokes, if it was the price of a conversation with a really beautiful woman. He would, however, prefer a beautiful woman who can discuss current events.

As for female comedians, he couldn't get enough of Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impression, and is fond of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as Elaine in Seinfeld. (Then again, he likes Kramer, George, and Neumann, too).

Bottom line, he either likes someone's humor, or doesn't. He does find studied attempts at being funny off-putting in either sex because it makes the person seem needy for attention, which is never attractive.

Amethyst

 

[Gumby]

I love funny women and don't feel threatened at all by them.

 

[ziggy29]

Why do men consider funny women threatening? I never understood this and figured our intelligent men on this board could shed some light on this.

I've never heard of "funny" women being threatening to men. Women that make more money than men, yes (but not to me -- I can only wish this were true)... women who are more intelligent and/or educated, yes -- I've heard these. But funny? New to me.

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

I don't know if men find funny women threatening or not, but I can't imagine anybody finding this funny lady unattractive.

Or this one

Recognize them?

 

[freebird5825]

Second pic is Lucille Ball.
First one has me stumped. Her eyes look a bit like Phyllis Diller's.

 

[Alan]

I love funny women, and I would be surprised to hear that most men are turned off by funny women. I can see where some men can be put off by women who are more intelligent them.

For long term relationships, those who laugh together stay together, IMO.

 

[Keim]

Second pic is Lucille Ball.
First one has me stumped. Her eyes look a bit like Phyllis Diller's.

Rosalind Russell.

 

[ziggy29]

It feels like moving into a parallel universe when I see pictures like this and remember that once upon a time it was supposed to be sexy and glamorous to be smoking.

 

[SecondCor521]

Why do men consider funny women threatening? I never understood this and figured our intelligent men on this board could shed some light on this.

...

Am I on the right track here at all? Any thoughts? This question had plagued me for years, so time to ask.

I personally find the attribute of "a good sense of humor" to be a very positive thing in a woman. It does not, in my mind, enter into the power balance at all.

(Personally I think a relationship that has a power balance is suspect for other reasons...If I ever go there again a fundamental requirement would be one based on mutual respect and appreciation, not on a balance of power. But I digress.)

I think I find it a positive trait because in my mind a genuine sense of humor around others also is closely related to the ability to take life itself with a bit of a sense of humor as well, which I think is almost always useful and sometimes absolutely necessary.

I exclude from the above humor that is exceptionally vulgar, sarcastic, or personally insulting. I don't find any of that kind of humor appealing at all, but nor do I find it threatening.

Depending on the particular woman, I would be scared off of entering a relationship with a woman who is far more accomplished, more educated, or had a higher income. I am working on changing that. But outside of the relationship realm, I would not be -- I would be perfectly happy to chat it up with Oprah, for example.

2Cor521

 

[Khan]

I recall a lover who enjoyed telling me jokes so that he could feel me laugh as he held onto me. I miss him.

 

[freebird5825]

Sense of humor in a woman? Hmmmm...I can't tell a joke to save my life.
I have been told I am very quick witted and can come up with some pretty funny observations about people and life in general.
Personally, I like to use double entendres and pure unadulterated subtlety in my favorite sport of busting chops.
I truly like to make people laugh to offset all the "other stuff".

 

[NW-Bound]

I wouldn't be intimidated by funny women. Nor intelligent ones.

Now, in my geeky circle, I have not met a woman I admire in my field, and when I do, I may feel a bit intimidated. Maybe.

However, I know other women who know plenty about things a geek like me doesn't know. It doesn't bother me. Heck, I learn something from most people I have met.

 

[Orchidflower]

Interesting. If it were true.

I'm curious on what you're basing this conclusion. If anything, it's the self-important, overly-serious, snarly ones (of either gender, for that matter) who scare the stuffing out of me.

Since I love comedy, I read every article on women and humor I can. This "men are threatened by funny women" comes up quit abit in articles, unfortunately.