STAFF: Be cautious of stereotypes when making jokes

^{Editor's Note: As of Jan. 21, 2012, user comments are no longer enabled for this article. We regret having to make this decision, but while open discourse and criticism is encouraged, three separate attempts to flood the page's comment section with jokes is not. - PC Police}

In the pursuit of laughs, comedians hang their hats on a number of different comedic methods: from impressions to improvisation to situational comedy. But in 2012, homophobia and misogyny still reign as common and largely unchallenged themes in stand-up, television and cinema.

We at the Daily Nebraskan feel that the regularity and subsequent tolerance of these themes in the television programs we love and in the acts of the comedians we slap our knees at is cause for alarm. At the very least, viewers and fans should feel conflicted. In a country where hate crimes and hate speech against women and LGBTQ individuals occur, aren't we just a stone's throw away (or at least behaving compliantly) when we laugh at jokes that reinforce and laud male dominance and devalue any individual who's not a heterosexual man? In the same vein that declaring "no homo" strongly implies that traits associated with gays and lesbians are decidedly negative and therefore deserve to be avoided by straight people, the notion that insulting others (however playfully) by suggesting homosexuality or femininity is humorous denies LGBTQ individuals their humanity.

The DN is not demanding a boycott of Dave Chappelle or "The League" or "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," or any number of shows/characters that utilize homophobia and misogyny in their comedy. However, we're students at an institute of higher education, attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to learn, in at least some capacity, how to perform analysis and think critically. It doesn't require a great deal of digging to see how mockery and stereotypical portrayals of women and LGBTQ individuals in comedy are damaging to groups and communities still fighting to have their rights recognized by American society at large.

So start with mindfulness. The next time you giggle at a portrayal of one heterosexual man tearing down another by suggesting that he's gay or effeminate, consider who you're laughing at, but more importantly, consider why.   

opinion@dailynebraskan.com