Page 66 - The Language of Humour

‘MY MOTHER-IN-LAW…’ 53
LESS POWERFUL GROUPS AS THE BUTT OF
HUMOUR
The term butt comes from Old French, originally referring to a mound
behind a target. It is now used in a metaphorical sense meaning an
object of ridicule and is used in phrases such as ‘the butt of his jokes’.
The interest for students of language lies in investigating which groups
are the butt of humour, thus revealing something about the attitudes of
that society.
I wouldn’t say she was pretty and I wouldn’t say she was ugly—
just pretty ugly.

There have been so many jokes about mothers-in-law in recent British
humour that they are referred to as a type: ‘mother-in-law jokes’;
similarly with ‘Irish’ jokes. Some people claim that language simply
reflects existing attitudes, that sexism and racism exist ‘in the world’
and that words do not change anything. Others maintain that language is
a powerful weapon, and that making conscious decisions about the use
of language can help to form or change attitudes. This latter position
leads to a deliberate rejection of humour that relies on a portrayal of
mothers-in-law as nagging and the Irish as thick, on the grounds that it
tends to perpetuate harmful social divisions. The former position would
regard this as a form of censorship which is, at best, pointless and, at
worst, a dangerous form of thought control.
This division of attitudes towards language can be seen in arguments
about ‘political correctness’. This term has acquired unfavourable
connotations, so it is better, perhaps, to use more neutral terms, like
‘social awareness’, to refer to the position that language has powerful
implications. It is certainly true that there is a decline in the occurrence
of ‘mother-in-law’ and ‘Irish’ jokes—in some circles, at least—but it is
difficult to know whether this is because attitudes have changed, or
whether attitudes changed because there was explicit control over
language and joking.
In many examples of humour the butt is a representative of a group
perceived as inferior in some sense, so it might seem unnecessary to
create a sense of superiority over them. The butt must first be accorded
some power. Certain social groups can be perceived as a threat, if not in
any physical or economic sense, then because they shake the other’s
sense of security in themselves. These types of humour will, therefore,
be context-bound: perceptions of status vary from culture to culture at