Is there feminine and masculine humor? Science has the answer!

While some lean toward silly jokes, others prefer dark humor. It's a fact: we don't all have the same relationship with humor… and genre has a huge impact! At least these are the new conclusions of a study published in the journal Gruyter Humor.

“Sexual” differences in jokes

In this study, 3,380 people were observed attending an exhibition of drawings drawn by famous cartoonists and distributed at the Cartoon Museum in London.

More precisely, the researchers placed an old set of such drawings dating from 1930 to 2010 – which specifically contained punched phrases – in front of the participants; Who then had to judge which joke was funnier?

Their answers were analyzed according to the content of the drawings and the date they were published, as well as the age and gender of the candidates.

a result ? Both men and women appreciated visual jokes that used puns or that explored the complexities of romantic relationships.

However, some slight differences were observed between the genders, with women preferring jokes related to everyday situations and jokes containing political commentary, while men preferred situational humor (particularly practiced by Gad Elmaleh and Florence Foresti) and visual.

According to the authors, this finding could reflect the way men and women manage their relationships.

Humor: What are the daily benefits?

According to many scientific studies, humor can reduce feelings of pain, strengthen the immune system, improve cognitive functions, prevent cardiovascular diseases, relieve stress… Without forgetting the “social” role of laughter, which allows you to facilitate relationships with others and Integration into a group.

Humor is also widely used during psychotherapy, as laughter can actually reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Slide: Readings to understand fatherhood with humor