Is Sir Michael Parkinson within his rights?

[flaviaritt]

Says men are funnier than women. He says, ‘It's a very contentious statement, but they're much better'.

My view is that, by the age of 85, if you think men are funnier than women, it’s just your opinion based on your experience and nobody should be getting riled up about it.

Reasonable?

If he said he doesn't find women as intelligent as men, would you think that was sexist?

No, I don’t think so. If a person is 85 I am going to assume they are speaking from their own experience of what they find in the world. I don’t know whether there is any IQ difference between women and men. It’s not something I have investigated. But day-to-day, when we meet people we make judgements about their intellect, and if by the time you’ve met a few thousand people you think there is a discernible difference, that isn’t prejudice, it is what you believe you have observed.

Also women modify their speech and subject matter when in the presence of mixed company whereas men, male interests and humour being seen as the default, don’t have to.

I think this is true.

Agree with the real life women making me laugh more. My godmother is the funniest person I've ever met, my very outspoken Irish nan a close second.

If you have a Top Gear sense of humour then you'll think men are funnier...

He's an old man plugging a book. Yawn.

I cannot bear him. He has always seemed like an unpleasant person. Couldn't stand him as a child. He certainly isn't funny.

@GrouchyKiwi

"I find men funnier than women" = fine.

"Men are funnier than women" = not fine.

Exactly this! I enjoy being around women more than I do men, I wouldn’t say that women are more enjoyable to be around than men though.

And I don’t agree with this distinction some people are making between stating opinion and stating fact. If he’d added “I think” to the beginning of his statement, would that absolve him? Surely not.

I can't name many women who make me laugh thb, but lots of men, that being said, I don't particularly seek out comedy on tv anyway.
Another who also thought MP was dead.

Such sexist blanket statements reveal the speaker to be unintelligent, in my opinion.

I think comedy is probably about shared experience. I find Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag hilarious because it reminds me a lot of my own (younger) life and she of my friends (who are also hilarious). But it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

Michael Parkinson may find he shares common ground with a lot of male comedians.

The difference is, I don't discount all male comedians because they are not Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It is so limiting to say that THIS is funny, therefore THAT is not. It is subjective, there's no wrong answer.

I'm afraid I judge Michael Parkinson greatly if he has actually said this. Also: What a statement to make if you yourself are not funny!

He is entitled to express his opinion and I am entitled to disagree.

I also think that men have more practise in banter because it’s part of male culture to rip the piss out of each other.

Girls, being trained as they are to care about the emotional well-being of others, don’t have that banter in their culture.

The funniest person I know is a woman but put her on a stage and I’m sure she’d crumble.

I wonder if it's something to do with the niche female comedians are expected to fill? Because male comedians usual shtick is about life, or the specific defects of their character.

Was going to counter this slightly by saying 'it's not so much what they're expected to say as what most think they have to offer/is funny. Pretty sure no one stops them from saying other things'.

Then the rest of your post (especially the one below) said what I wanted to say and I agree.

Whereas female comedians are more driven to jokes about female experiences. I don't like Jo Brand or Sarah Milican when their material leans so much towards "hey look, we're women, cake, periods, haha".

But say, Sarah Pascoe doesn't do that so much and thus I find her funnier

But OP you stated that this statement of his makes you like him more? Why is that?

Lots of people mistake their opinions for facts. It saves them the mental rigour of having to reflect upon or question those opinions.

It’s rarely a likeable quality.

I love this!

* Michael Parkinson is a sexist bellend. Always has been.*

I agree with this, I’ve never liked him.

@flaviaritt

And I don’t agree with this distinction some people are making between stating opinion and stating fact. If he’d added “I think” to the beginning of his statement, would that absolve him? Surely not.

Of course there's a difference. Humour, like most things, is subjective. If Parkinson finds comedy by men suits his sense of humour better then that's how it is for him.

But if he thinks men are funnier than women in general - for everyone - then that is sexist.

You can be 85 and sexist though. Suggesting it’s not sexism “if most people that age believe it” isn’t really how it works. I would agree with him if he said that there were fewer funny female comedians than male ones, but TV is most definitely not the world, and it’s bizarre to make such general blanket statements.

But OP you stated that this statement of his makes you like him more? Why is that?

I suppose I have become tired of a world where people don’t feel able to say things they think, and I like the fact that he said what he really thinks.

@GrouchyKiwi

"I find men funnier than women" = fine.

"Men are funnier than women" = not fine.

Exactly.

He's saying it as if it's fact but it's only his opinion doubtless shaped by his being an over-privileged white (ish) UK male.

He's within his rights. Just as I'm within my rights to point out that he's taking advantage of the way in which misogyny is recently being re-legitimized by certain brands of male rights activism. The word 'feminist' is now openly used as an insult. It wasn't expedient in recent decades to say this kind of thing out loud. Now, it is. Just goes to show it was never far from the surface and all the closet sexists will now reveals themselves as the Machiavellian dinosaurs they are.

But if he thinks men are funnier than women in general - for everyone - then that is sexist.

I don’t agree. It is a generalisation based on his many years of listening to both sexes. I don’t think it’s prejudice. Sexism is prejudice.

@Sparklingbrook

Am I the only person who didn't realise MP was still alive.

No I thought he'd died years ago

I wonder if it's something to do with the niche female comedians are expected to fill

Yes I agree. It’s like when black comedians fill the need to point out their blackness. It’s as if white man is the default and anyone else needs to justify their being on stage. They need to say “it’s ok to laugh AT me”

If a person is 85 I am going to assume they are speaking from their own experience of what they find in the world. surely we all do that whatever age we are?

As for MP’s opinions on which sex is funnier...does anyone care?

And I don’t agree with this distinction some people are making between stating opinion and stating fact. If he’d added “I think” to the beginning of his statement, would that absolve him? Surely not.

Well there quite clearly is a difference otherwise why do we bother with research?
Opinion isn't fact.

@flaviaritt

But OP you stated that this statement of his makes you like him more? Why is that?

I suppose I have become tired of a world where people don’t feel able to say things they think, and I like the fact that he said what he really thinks.

I agree. Hope he isn't cancelled because he said what he thinks. You know, free speech and all.