I officially have too many blog posts here with some variation of the title Rape Is Not Funny - but I am going to have one more today. Because it is still an issue. Because people like Daniel Tosh are still making rape jokes, and companies like the Laugh Factory and Comedy Central are still giving them a place to do it.
Cookies for Breakfast shared her friend's story today on her blog. It started with Daniel Tosh on stage at the Laugh Factory making generalizing, declarative statements about rape jokes always being funny, how can a rape joke not be funny, and rape is hilarious.
Her friend yelled out, “Actually, rape jokes are never funny!” Tosh replied with the quote I shared above, "Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, five guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her?"
This isn't the first time Daniel Tosh has made a rape joke - there are countless videos, articles, and clips that can be seen on his Comedy Central Tosh.O show if you want to look them up. He is a repeat rape joke offender.
This is what I want you to know: Rape jokes hurt survivors. Rape jokes lead rapists to believe that you are okay with it, that maybe you do it too, and that you think it is fine, normal, and even funny. Rape is no joke, and it certainly isn't funny. The rape culture needs to stop, and we need to stand up and speak out against it.
*Thanks to Lee for finding the post at Cookies for Breakfast, and writing about it in Life Lesson: Rape is NEVER a Joke. She made some great points, including, "What would Tosh have done if some drunk guys in the audience had thought it wasn’t a bad idea and decided to take him up on his idea and actually jumped her right there in the club? Would he have stopped it or cheered them on?" It is definitely something to think about.
I'm not saying rape jokes are at all funny, but what evidence is there that her story is even true? I have seen not one other account by someone else who was there about this incident, and there is no video anywhere supporting her claims. All I have seen is a bunch of people re-posting here original story, and then adding their commentary about it. How do we know it's true? Should we trust some random girl's testimony that Tosh said it would be funny if she was raped?
ReplyDeleteThere isn't always a video camera running to catch everything that is said. The fact that he has made tasteless, revolting, similar rape jokes in the past made this account pretty believable to me.
DeleteAlso, he gave this lame apology yesterday: http://twitter.com/danieltosh/status/222796532653629441
Would it have been funny if the "joke" was that the five guys raped Daniel Tosh? If rape jokes are always funny, then it's just as funny if the victim of the rape is a male, and is the person making the "joke", no?
ReplyDelete"Jokes" like those make you wonder about a person...
I don't know who that guy is but he sounds like a piece of shit. I will avoid anything to do with him. Thanks for the PSA!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anything about Daniel Tosh until I saw your tweet today. Unfortunately, I decided to google him. I'm not a hater, but man, that guy is vile, a total asshole. He has even made jokes about the Sandusky rapes. To make your living by shocking and offending innocent victims is unconscionable. I will boycott Daniel Tosh and those who support his horrible statements.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it always makes me sad when people joke about such hurtful things. Its sad that in our society its more important to be seen as funny than to respect the feelings and experiences of others.
ReplyDeleteUgh. This just adds to our rape culture. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
ReplyDeleteSo aggravating that people make those jokes and think it's something to joke about. It just makes a case for more education. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteHow do we get his demographic to boycott his show? Considering his audience is as "insert word here" as he is?!
ReplyDeleteHe's awful, just awful.
Who the hell is Daniel Tosh? Never heard of him. He must never have loved a mother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, etc. to be able to make such despicable jokes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, we all need to speak out against such ignorance.
If you think that yelling at someone performing a live show on a stage is a reasonable reaction to hearing subject matter you find objectionable, you're an idiot. Sorry, your personal experience, no matter how horrible does not give you the right to dictate what other people say, joke, sing, or write movies about. You're just one person, you can not impose your will on the planet.
ReplyDelete