Ridicule, gender hegemony, and the disciplinary function of mainstream gender humour
| dc.contributor.author | Abedinifard, Mostafa | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-08-30 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-05-28T00:36:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-05-28T00:36:22Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2016 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This paper foregrounds the disciplinary power of ridicule, as a form or aspect of humour, vis-à-vis gender norms. While much theoretical and empirical research in gender studies recognizes the punitive function of gendered humour and/or ridicule, this function is given no theoretical significance. To resolve this tension, I integrate social psychologist Michael Billig's theory of ridicule as a universal reinforcer of the social order, along with the notion of gender order (as a particular type of social order) as outlined in masculinities theorist Raewyn Connell's gender hierarchy model. I contend that as a form of mainstream gender humour, ridicule serves as a tool for policing the gender order and creating self-regulating gendered subjects. The argument enables a rereading of mainstream gender humour, especially when it deploys ridicule to target non-hegemonic gendered subjectivities, practices, and performances. Such apparently banal humour, as I illustrate with examples of contemporary Anglo-American mainstream gender humour, speaks to and protects the fundamental elements of the gender order of the society and culture in which the humour circulates. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the main argument for pro-gender democracy research and activism. | |
| dc.description.uri | https://library.macewan.ca/cgi-bin/SFX/url.pl/8IH | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Mostafa, Abedinifard. "Ridicule, Gender Hegemony, and the Disciplinary Function of Mainstream Gender Humour." Social Semiotics, vol. 26, no. 3, 2016, pp. 234-249. Social Science & Humanities, doi: 10.1080/10350330.2015.1134817. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2015.1134817 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/583 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | |
| dc.subject | ridicule | |
| dc.subject | gender humour | |
| dc.title | Ridicule, gender hegemony, and the disciplinary function of mainstream gender humour | en |
| dc.type | Article |