Hum Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Men are naturally more comedic than women because of the male hormone testosterone, an expert claims. Men make more gags than women and their jokes tend to be more aggressive, Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, says. The unicycling doctor observed how the genders reacted to his "amusing" hobby. Women tended to make encouraging, praising comments, while men jeered. The most aggressive were young men, he told the British Medical Journal. Previous findings have suggested women and men differ in how they use and appreciate humour. Women tend to tell fewer jokes than men and male comedians outnumber female ones. Research suggests men are more likely to use humour aggressively by making others the butt of the joke. And aggression - generally considered to be a more masculine trait - has been linked by some to testosterone exposure in the womb. Professor Shuster believes humour develops from aggression caused by male hormones. He documented the reaction of over 400 individuals to his unicycling antics through the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne. Almost half of people responded verbally - more being men. Very few of the women made comic or snide remarks, while 75% of the men attempted comedy - mostly shouting out "Lost your wheel?", for example. Often the men's comments were mocking and intended as a put-down. Young men in cars were particularly aggressive - they lowered their windows and shouted abusively. This type of behaviour decreased among older men however, who tended to offer more admiring comments, much like the women. "The idea that unicycling is intrinsically funny does not explain the findings," said Professor Shuster. The simplest explanation, he says, is the effect of male hormones such as testosterone. "The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and consistent," said Professor Shuster. "At 11-13 years, the boys began to get really aggressive. Into puberty, the aggression became more marked, then it changed into a form of joke. The men were snide." The initial aggressive intent seems to become channelled into a more subtle and sophisticated joke, so the aggression is hidden by wit, explained Professor Shuster. Dr Nick Neave is a psychologist at the University of Northumbria who has been studying the physical, behavioural, and psychological effects of testosterone. He suggested men might respond aggressively because they see the other unicycling man as a threat, attracting female attention away from themselves. "This would be particularly challenging for young males entering the breeding market and thus it does not surprise me that their responses were the more threatening." source Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubaine Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Um, no where in the article does it link being aggressive to being funny. So none of this really makes any sense. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079220 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-uk Veteran Posted December 21, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 21, 2007 that explains why there are no good looking female comedians :p and the ones that are good looking arnt very good at it lol. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079288 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 21, 2007 Author Share Posted December 21, 2007 No good female comedians ??? Lucille Ball, Ruth Buzzie, Lily Thomlin, Carol Burnett, were not funny ? :laugh: I beg to differ. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079480 Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubaine Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 No good female comedians ???Lucille Ball, Ruth Buzzie, Lily Thomlin, Carol Burnett, were not funny ? :laugh: I beg to differ. I would like to add Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes, and (I can't believe you didn't mention her above), Whoopi Goldberg. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079493 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-uk Veteran Posted December 21, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 21, 2007 No good female comedians ???Lucille Ball, Ruth Buzzie, Lily Thomlin, Carol Burnett, were not funny ? :laugh: I beg to differ. never heard of any of them, LOL. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079541 Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateB1 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 never heard of any of them, LOL. You've never heard of Lucille Ball? I've watched a show or two of "I Love Lucy" - I didn't find it funny (rather stupid, IMO), but obviously many did. If any of you have a chance, check out "The Long Long Trailer" which starred Lucille Ball - now that was hilarious. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079548 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ring0 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Lucille Ball, Ruth Buzzie, Lily Thomlin, Carol Burnett .... Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes... Whoopi Goldberg. all dudes. also, with the *possible* exception of lucy, all boringly unfunny. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079557 Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubaine Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 all dudes. also, with the *possible* exception of lucy, all boringly unfunny. I don't know how anyone who has actually seen Margaret Cho (unless you're easliy offended) or Whoopi Goldberg can actually call them unfunny. Furthermore, I don't understand your comment about them being "dudes". Can you elaborate? Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/608443-news-humour-comes-from-testosterone/#findComment-589079689 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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