Sniff the Corpse of Bernard Manning pt3

Anyone here been raped and do standup?

I once heard a comedienne say in an interview that you can only make jokes about rape if you're a woman who's been raped. I gamely tried to think of a few gags on the subject but I couldn't come up with any. However, if a woman who's been raped has found a way to make the experience funny I find that admirable and I don't think anyone should try to stop her. But I don't think they should try to stop me, either. As it happens I don't want to make jokes about women and rape but I don't want to be told I can't, either. I can understand why some people might be offended if I did, and I'd be wary of doing the routine at hen parties, but I don't think anything should be taboo for a writer or performer just because they haven't experienced it. Shakespeare wrote about rape, torture, and people accidentally eating their own children, which he presumably hadn't experienced. Those topics tended to crop up in his tragedies, admittedly, but murder and mayhem have never been off-limits in comedy. So why can't I tell jokes about women being raped?

There doesn't seem to be a problem with jokes about men who've been raped. It's taken for granted that a comedy which even mentions men in prison will include jokes  about proctology and not bending over in the shower. But a man who's raped is no less damaged by it than a woman. Why is one experience a legitimate subject for comic treatment while the other isn't? This is part of an argument about 'offensive' comedy which, in turn, is part of a much larger battle about free speech, censorship, and human rights. Offensive comedy is beginning to look like the front line in a cultural civil war.

Sniff the Corpse of Bernard Manning part 2

HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST I'M OFFENDED?

When it comes to comedy some people claim that nothing can offend them. But the truth is that everyone can be offended - if you try hard enough.

In the same way that everyone has a price, everyone has something they're sensitive about - because everyone has beliefs. Rationalists believe it's stupid to hold irrational beliefs, and you can make them quite angry simply by professing faith in something, especially if you invent it yourself and make it as weird as possible.  But it's sometimes hard to offend people who are so certain of their religious beliefs that they radiate that creepy, contemptuous serenity. With them you might have to get personal. Stuff about their mother often does the trick. But how do you offend a comedian who tells offensive jokes? I'll tell you later.

On May 19th I'm chairing an event at London's Southbank Centre. It's called "No Offence But..." and the panel includes Richard Herring, Brendon Burns, Francesca Martinez and Oona King, Channel 4's Head of Diversity (see link at the end of this post).  We're going to challenge some basic assumptions about comedy.

Why does comedy have to be offensive at all? Why can't we just make nice, silly jokes that make everyone happy? Why do we need comedy that might offend some people? The answer could be in the word 'some'. If everyone in the world found something offensive it wouldn't be funny. But there are some very sick people out there, who find even the most vile, repulsive jokes amusing, if you tell them properly. Thank God for diversity. What one person finds funny, another person finds distasteful. But there can be lots of different reasons why someone takes offence. It could be because of beliefs they hold, or it could be because of something that's happened to them. And even then, two people can react differently to the same experience. Here's an example. It's not strictly speaking comedy, in the sense that it's about someone dying of cancer. But lighten up...

Sniff the Corpse of Bernard Manning, part 1

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WARNING:
Don't read this if you're easily offended.


Still here? Of course you are. Have you ever met anyone who admits to being easily offended? "I'm rather narrow-minded, actually, and I haven't got much of a sense of humor - you know the type, an uptight bigot." It's a ridiculous warning, even though you often see it. Next time you do, laugh knowingly and congratulate yourself on your liberal values and tolerance. You can't be offended, can you?

Free speech. Are you getting enough, or is there a bit too much of it around? It's a big, hot topic that generates a lot of anger, fear and confusion. In fact, it's so big that it helps to narrow the focus a bit in order to have a fruitful discussion. So let's talk about comedy.

Should comedy worry about offending people? In the words of my friend Francesca Martinez, "What's so terrible about being offended anyway?" And she should know, because she's one of Britain's funniest disabled comedians. Although that isn't really saying much, is it? It's a bit like saying "One of Britain's finest tap-dancing astronauts." See what we're doing here? We're being a teeny bit 'offensive', just for fun. That's the spirit. Anyway, Francesca will be joining me at an event I'm hosting on May 19th called "No offence, but..." at London's South Bank Centre as part of the Udderbelly comedy festival. We'll be joined by Richard Herring, Brendon Burns and some others, to have a challenging discussion. In the next few weeks I'll be posting a series of articles on this site about 'offensive comedy'. So watch this space. Okay, you can stop watching now; it's a figure of speech, and nothing is going to happen this instant. Or... is it? Better keep watching. Meanwhile, here's a thought. Everyone talks about 'respect' but what does it really mean? And can you teach respect through fear?