Gazza’s rude word was not funny

Mocking someone's race or gender is not funny, writes Shelina Janmohamed – no matter how much the teller claims it is mere "banter"

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne was fined for making a racist remark (Rui Vieira/PA via AP)

The adage says that never a truer word is spoken than in jest. But when people make jokes designed to mock, belittle or stereotype others, the butt of those jokes are told that it’s not serious, that “it’s just a joke!” But jokes in fact reveal the deep-seated attitudes of their tellers. And when those attitudes are vile and discriminatory, they claim the mantle of humour as some sort of excuse.

This week the former English footballer Paul Gascoigne was rightly fined for a remark he made as part of a show, directed towards a black member of the audience. He told him that he wouldn’t be able to see him in the dark unless he smiled.

The first offence of this joke is to think that we still live in the 1970s. But its main crime against humour is that it is not just unfunny but despicable. Jokes belittling people because of their race simply give free rein to such attitudes to remain normal in society.

The same happens to jokes about women and domestic violence. One popular clip on Facebook recently was taken from a Bollywood film. The male protagonist violently slaps a woman who falls to the ground. The caption posted by Zain Malik (not that Zayn Malik, but a Bollywood entertainer with half a million followers on Facebook) said in reference to the violent slap: “When your girlfriend asked for an iPhone 7.”

Ho, ho! Isn’t it hilarious that your female partner should be beaten for making a request.

This “humour” has been shared more than 40,000 times. I first came across it reported by women in women’s forums chuckling at how funny it is.

The mind boggles, because the women laughing at the iPhone joke would be outraged if they found a man was beating his wife. Yet they laugh at the same attitude that produces it.

A joke is not just a joke, it reinforces power structures, and becomes a way to diminish and malign the other group. They depend on lazy stereotypes for their humour.

Some studies suggest that telling sexist jokes can precipitate sexist behaviour. You could easily extrapolate to similar behaviour with racism or other forms of discrimination.

There should be zero tolerance of any jokes that make fun of hitting women. Or mocking a racial group. Jokes are where discriminatory attitudes reside. And victims are told to suck up the fact that those who are in positions of social privilege can make fun of them, because “don’t you have a sense of humour?” Taking away the right to object is a further form of power oppression.

The people laughing at the racist jokes, when challenged, say that they are the ones being persecuted for having a sense of humour. Yet they have no clue what being persecuted for your race or gender actually means – more police arrests, more and longer prison sentences, reduced chances of employment, less representation, domestic violence, death.

Of course every subject can be put through the lens of humour. But it is most powerful when it exposes the perpetrators, not the victims; pokes fun at the gap between aspiration and reality; and picks out the human foibles rather than mocks the person.

If you find yourself having to justify your joke with “I’m just kidding!” then stop. It’s most likely not funny, and worse still you are most likely part of a wider problem of discrimination. And that’s no joke.

Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World