As a passionate, self-proclaimed feminist, I have a problem with the recent uproar resulting from Daniel Tosh’s decision to respond, rather menacingly, to a female heckler at one of his shows.
Don’t get me wrong, I thought Tosh’s response was pretty lousy. Most of all, his response wasn’t even funny. But does he deserve to be at the receiving end of an angry online mob that will not acknowledge that a bad joke is just that — a bad joke?
My point is not that rape should ever be taken lightly — of course not. There seems, however, to be some discussion of how a rape joke should be delivered and the context within which it is appropriate.
But who decides what kind of rape joke is ever appropriate? Comedians make fun of all sorts of intimate and important things: religion, family, sexual orientation, death, people with disabilities, etc. The list is endless and hardly ever appropriate. If we draw a line at one point, then shouldn’t we police all other jokes just as harshly?
Everyone has a right to take offense to any jokes made by Tosh or any other comic act. When I attended Tosh’s performance at UF last spring, I found myself laughing at jokes that were often harsh and highly inappropriate, but isn’t that what Tosh does? Shouldn’t the offended female heckler have taken the context into consideration?
After all, the woman was there to watch Tosh, and he isn’t exactly known for making intellectual jokes. He is best known for his crude, immature and offensive brand of humor that takes little to no consideration for any aspect of society.
When an audience member called for Tosh to strip during his performance at UF in April 2011, his response was, “I’m not going to do that. It’s good to know whores get into UF.”
Ouch! If offending the audience members is a risk that comedians such as Tosh take, then heckling during such performances is also a risk that audience members should take while being prepared for a candid and usually harsh response.
I feel bad for the female heckler who was upset by Tosh’s response. She had every right to feel that rape should not be a topic joked about at a comedy club. In fact, I am sure most of us feel that same way about some topic or another.
Our individual experiences, boundaries and perceptions of what is too much or too far should not be used to limit the creative work of acts such as Tosh or other comedians.
Context in this regard is important. A politician or celebrity going on a harsh, offensive tirade is one thing, but you have to cut some slack for someone like Tosh, who rarely leaves anyone out from being a victim of his crude jokes.
Tosh made a poor choice of words and apologized for it promptly and what appeared to be sincerely.
Let’s just accept his apology and move on to more serious issues. Fellow feminists, we have a lot of battles to fight, but this does not seem like one of them to me.
Anam Wahidi received a master’s degree in mass communication with a specialization in international/intercultural communication.
