As of late, I’ve been struggling to find straight men particularly funny. From bizarre dating app openers to dumb TikTok takes, to sharing Instagram Reels from creators whose humour is simply rooted in being offensive, the laughs are lacking.
So dire is the humour gap that earlier this year, TikTok was flooded with videos from women upset about the drivel men send them. “Why do men send you the most unfunny Reels known to man?” one female creator said, in a clip that earned almost 33,000 likes. “Like, there’s no way you looked at that, laughed, and then sent it to me thinking I would do the same.”
To make matters worse, during his third stint hosting Saturday Night Live, “comedian” and podcaster (oh, the cliche!) Shane Gillis opened his monologue with some good old fashioned misogyny. His target? Women who wear booty shorts at the gym. “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now,” he said. “Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe [it]…They’re those neon, like, artificial bait-coloured [shorts], and the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look.”
Please, excuse me while I expel a tired sigh. If you’re going to be a misogynist in the name of “edgy” humour, at least make the bit funny.
Bear in mind Gillis was previously fired from SNL for making sexist and racist comments – yet somehow, was still invited to come back a third time. Saturday night’s joke wasn’t made in poor taste, nor was it ill-timed, or a mistake. It was a deliberate decision that perpetuates rape culture and highlights the lack of accountability men have to take for their actions – perfectly summarising everything that is wrong with our culture.