Is it ever acceptable to make jokes about rape? That is the question that panel members at Junkee’s new Take On debate series dissected earlier this week.
The catalyst for the debate was a piece penned by Jezabel writer Lindy West, piece about the importance of social responsibility in comedy, especially when attempting to tell rape jokes. She argued that while it may be possible for some rape jokes to be made in a way that does not endanger rape victims, it is very, very rare.
West’s analysis of the problem received enormous backlash from the comedic community. She received a litany of death threats and rape threats from online trolls as well as local comedians she knew personally and had worked with in the past. They told her she was bitter because she was too ugly to be raped. They told her they hoped she would fall down a flight of stairs. They told her they would like to watch her get raped.
Why is the idea that we shouldn’t tell rape jokes so controversial? Why is the comedic community so defensive of its right to make light of a traumatic violent crime?
The Junkee Take On panel was asked by moderator and Junkee editor Steph Harmon about their responses to West’s argument. Are rape jokes ever acceptable? Are they funny? Who can tell them, if anyone? When should they be told, if ever?
The panel featured the Guardian Australia’s Comment is Free editor Adam Brereton and comedians Zoe Coombs-Marr, Veronica Milsom and Aamer Rahman. That two of the three panelists representing the world of comedy were women was significant. Comedy has long been dominated by men so hearing from two successful, articulate female comedians was refreshing.
Coombs-Marr started the conversation about rape jokes with a damning observation from her own experiences in the industry:
“If you go to any comedy night, anywhere, you will definitely hear a rape joke. There will always be at least one,” she said. She took the position, like West, that there are occasions on which rape jokes can be funny, but they are very infrequent.
“There are funny rape jokes. I believe you can make a joke about anything and it can still be funny. Generally though, the rape jokes being made are being made by lazy male stand up comedians who aren’t very good and are making rape jokes at the expense of the victim. Those are the majority of rape jokes, and they are not funny.”
“It has to be handled in an incredibly delicate way, so it requires a knowledge of the very real threat of rape.”
Rahman, a Melbourne comedian and producer of Fear of a Brown Planet, made a pertinent point: Rape jokes do not exist in a vacuum.
“Rape jokes feed into a broader culture of violence against women,” he said. He explained that violence is still a very real threat for women, and any comedy that exacerbates that culture, and any audience that laughs at it, is problematic and dangerous.
Brereton echoed this sentiment, saying that every time a comedian makes a rape joke, he or she creates an audience that is increasingly responsive to rape jokes, which then feeds back into a culture that subjugates and threatens women.
The panel considered whether it’s acceptable for a rape joke to be made if a woman, who has an intimate understanding of these issues, is telling it. Is it possible that perhaps rape jokes, when told by the right people in the right way, can actually help women and society deal with an issue that is very difficult to understand or process?
It’s difficult to escape the conclusion that the risk of damage to victims and future victims, by the telling of even one rape joke is probably too high. Even if there is some cathartic benefit to the telling of those rape jokes that are sensitive and do not victim-blame, this benefit is heavily outweighed by the fact that making light of violence against women sustains a culture that permits it. I would like to think there is nothing too serious to make a joke about, but in this case the stakes are too high.
The standard we walk past is the standard we accept. How can we accept rape jokes if we are to progress beyond persistent and systemic violence against women?
Regardless of my personal views, it was heartening that a panel tasked with discussing the most pressing matters for comedy and satire would spend so much time discussing these issues.
What’s your take? Are rape jokes ever acceptable? Are they ever funny? Can they be innocuous, or are they always damaging? Who can tell them, and when, and how? Let us know what you think.