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?

Yes, but I don’t think anyone saying ‘In my life I have found (usually, people like me) funnier/more amusing/shared sense of humour’ is being sexist, racist or homophobic. And that is how his quote reads.*

I agree that there is a distinction here. A generalisation about all men and women is different to expressing your own experience. One is bigoted nonsense, the other is (relatively useless) anecdotal evidence.

My reply was more directed towards the people who posted to say they found his words comforting/ inspiring because he is saying things that society has deemed offensive.

However, I don't believe that Parkinson was making a harmless remark about a strange correlation that has come to his attention between the people that he finds the most amusing and their gender.
I think (and it is only my opinion) that he was being intentionally inflammatory.

If anyone says they find X group funnier/cleverer/nicer than Y group my view is they are either a) prejudiced or b) plain weird. Why would anyone even say that?

I say I find X person really funny, I don't link that to their characteristics be that sex, race, age, height...

Mate, you’re the one who doesn’t know the difference between an opinion and a statement from earlier in the thread 😂 I’ve misspelled the first name of an author from a book I’ve actually read, and that’s sitting a couple of feet from me on my bookcase.

Like I said, give it a try. You might learn something about systemic sexism.

If anyone says they find X group funnier/cleverer/nicer than Y group my view is they are either a) prejudiced or b) plain weird. Why would anyone even say that?

Because they do? He was making a point (it seems) about male emotions. Why shouldn’t he say what he thinks?

It’s his opinion. Opinions are subjective.

SachaStark

Maybe a trip to Spec Savers, then?

@nancydowns tbh your choice of funny comedians is pretty poor.
Joan Rivers was far funnier than those 4.

I vaguely recall an interview with an Irish Formula One driver who said that he didn't find women funny. I can never remember his name, but always used to marvel at his wealth and profile when he never seemed to win any bloody races. He was a twat, too. I imagine he and 'Parky' would get on famously.

I’m surprised Katherine Ryan hasn’t been mentioned yet! Her comedy shows are excellent. DH and I have seen two of them live, and they didn’t disappoint.

Also, Taylor Tomlinson is very young and up-and-coming right now.

Even if a comment is framed as “in my experience...” it can be bloody unhelpful if targeting a group that’s already struggling.

You often hear about female comedians giving up due to the abuse, I saw Jo brand talk about it recently. It’s brutal.

Even if a comment is framed as “in my experience...” it can be bloody unhelpful if targeting a group that’s already struggling.

Well, yes, but it’s not his responsibility to censor himself to help comedians he doesn’t find funny.

“Why shouldn’t he say what he thinks?“

Of course he can say what he thinks, but it doesn’t make him right or mean I have to agree with him!

Old man is sexist. What a shocker.

Of course he can say what he thinks, but it doesn’t make him right or mean I have to agree with him!

Absolutely.

Nothing can stop him, I suppose.

Likewise, nothing can stop us from preferring younger celebrities who are more in touch with modern ways of thinking.

Statements like his just make me think he's past it. Same as I feel sbout blatantly sexist or racist comedy

Miranda was the unfunniest comedian I ever watched, but seemed to be quite popular amongst , but not really men. Maybe we just don’t find the same things funny most of the time? I can think of many male comedians who make me laugh, but no female ones. Apart from maybe the late Caroline Aherne.

amongst women

@flaviaritt

BefuddledPerson

So in your view, it’s unacceptable to make any generalisations of opinion based on your own experience? I find that odd.

I didn't say it was unacceptable, did I? I don't think it is unacceptable in any terms.

What I said is people are biased. This is not news.

SachaStark you beat me to it!
I was just about to recommend that book ....it should be mandatory reading!

Who cares what Michael Parkinson thinks?

I can think of some great female comedians, maybe because I am female and find them more relatable ? so I disagree with his statement.
I think its fine for MP to state his own personal preference, but the trouble with the kind of men that make these kind of statements is they express them as fact, not their own personal view, which shows a certain kind of arrogance to believe their own views are the only truth.

I always found him smug and patronising when he had a talk show. The last I saw of him was him flogging life insurance for over 55’s where you get a free pen.

What I said is people are biased. This is not news.

I think people can be biased. But I don’t think I am biased when I say I find male comedians funnier than female comedians. I just think the jokes are usually better quality. If the female comedians got better I would reverse my observation.

People often dress up prejudice by saying, "Ooh, I'm being a bit cheeky, I'm going against the status quo," but the basis of such a statement isn't cheeky or funny or original. It's ignorance dressed up as some sort of chic or amusing personal failing.

And that is the cornerstone of systematic misogyny. You don't really get villains or angels in real life. Nice people sometimes hold distasteful views. Unpleasant people do selfless things. It is not easy to neatly file away the good and the bad.

So when people make blanket statements that reveal they have put very little thought into something, that they regard a disparate group of people as one homogenous (and inferior) mass, they ARE being prejudiced, I'm afraid, even if they say it with a chuckle and a wink. Prejudiced, stupid, and not very nice.

Having said this, it's possible that the quote has been cut; though I should hope The Times' production team are cautious about conflating opinion and statement.

Also, just a point about female comedians:
www.strudel.org.uk/panelshows/

Here are some statistics on the inclusion of female comedians on panel shows (last updated January 2020). They are dreadful but also illuminating (and unsurprising).

If there are fewer opportunities for female comedians to succeed and gain employment (as clearly there are) then there will be fewer female comedians. In fact, a database for comedians in the UK lists 269 female comedians, and 1,279 male comedians.

Since only the best comedians tend to make it into the public eye through TV shows etc. it stands to reason that if there are significantly more male comedians, the quality of male comedians at the top might be better (because there is a greater pool to choose from and more competition).

That said, I believe there is also an element of unconscious bias acting against female comedians insofar as they are expected to "prove themselves" or otherwise justify their place on a comedy panel in a way that their male counterparts are not (that last one is just my opinion, feel free to disagree until I find a citation )