Christopher Hitchens: Why Women Still Aren't Funny

Uploaded By:
VanityFairMagazine

Save & Share

Tags: Alessandra Christopher Fair Fey Funny Hitchens Sarah Silverman Stanley Tina Vanity Women

Find more videos in the "Comedy" category

Want to embed this video on your blog or e-mail it to a friend? Scroll down for tools.

From http://www.VF.com: Christopher Hitchens rebuts Alessandra Stanley's essay, "Who Says Women Aren't Funny?" To see more pictures and video, read more controversial commentary, and tell Hitchens what you think, visit vanityfair.com.

See more videos uploaded by VanityFairMagazine

Related Videos

The gender card, Christopher Hitchens and Andrew Sullivan	The Rise of Atheism - ABC plus Christopher Hitchens	"Woman" Tells Hitchens He Has a Small Penis During Debate

Islam Versus Kuffars - U.K.	Anthropology 101 - Hour of Faith	RED EYE PICK 3 (5-12-2007) Greg's Mom,Sex Survey,Dead German

Comments for this video: Show || Hide

Comments for this video on YouTube

If women had not ... ( 5 days ago by bcusmano)

If women had not wit, they would never laugh at your jokes.

i have seen some ... ( 4 days ago by duhovnik)

i have seen some female stand up comedians which were hillarious, but yes, most are men

Here is why ... ( 4 days ago by gabrielg01)

Here is why Hitchens is wrong: Women CAN understand the jokes perfectly well, and understanding a joke is the same mental ability as making a joke. This is why a person lacking a sense of humor is equally incapable of making jokes, as well as understanding jokes. Now if only Hitchens was capable of understanding this...

'cause women are ... ( 4 days ago by gabrielg01)

'cause women are not desperate to get laid.

You're wrong. ... ( 3 days ago by neestle)

You're wrong. Understanding a joke and making a joke are nowhere near the same thing. Just because you find a standup act hilarious does not mean you can get up there and do it. Even if you memorized the same jokes, it still takes a lot of skill to deliver them in a funny way.
If you have no sense of humor, you can't make jokes, that's true. But having one doesn't automatically make you funny. It's a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one.

What a repulsive, ... ( 3 days ago by algabal)

What a repulsive, sloppy, obese drunk. Go back to Britain, Hitch.

neestle, that is a ... ( 3 days ago by gabrielg01)

neestle, that is a flawed argument. Almost anyone with a good sense of humor can become a standup comedian. It is only a matter of practice and guts. Flawed arguments as yours have been common in history: women can't vote, they can't drive, they can't fly, whatever...

I never said a ... ( 3 days ago by neestle)

I never said a thing about women. My comments had nothing to do with sex. Don't be so self-righteous.
No, I just couldn't stand by while someone said that sense of humor is the same as being funny, an absurdly flawed argument: e.g. Art appreciation = great art talent. Film critic = great director. And since I've heard many fantastic standups talk about how much they sucked for the first two yea
rs, I think you underestimate the talent, both innate and learned, that is involved.

Anyone who tries to ... ( 3 days ago by eharvimy)

Anyone who tries to rebut this video merely failed to comprehend (or probably even try to) Hitchens' point of view. It's a perfectly valid point and is nothing to take offense over. He's saying that the need to be funny lies with men. Women don't need to be funny (to attract the opposite sex) and therefore they generally aren't (the feminine ones).

He's such an A-hole ... ( 3 days ago by killerbandit)

He's such an A-hole......I love it!

Killerbandit, ... ( 2 days ago by Jimbo8012)

Killerbandit, you're correct. Hitchens is a bit of a smug twat but in a very good way nonetheless. He's a formidably intelligent/articulate bloke and to be honest, he has a valid point. He's right that men have to try harder to be funny. After all, women (as a breed) tend to rate being funny as a highly attractive characteristic in a male. Contrarily, men (including myself) tend to put more emphasis on looks than perhaps personality. I do realise that's horribly superficial though.

Hitch is right like ... ( 2 days ago by pred178)

Hitch is right like always

To address whether ... ( 2 days ago by socialmedic)

To address whether or not women are funny is rather broad and sweeping. To say the social context does not require them to be funny does not mean that women do not feel the need to entertain by humor. However women in the social context tend to limit their humor to cattiness, back biting, with their assortment of deceptions and cunnings by which they seek attention, especially of men. Men more freely joke about a variety of subjects, by socialization are not limited to cattiness.

I love Hitchens, ... ( 1 day ago by smileybeetle)

I love Hitchens, but I see one major flaw in his reasoning. He claims that women aren't funny because they have no need to be; men find them attractive as they are. Now, I'm a woman and often feel the need to be funny around men (I don't perceive myself as particularly alluring), and I've met many beautiful men who are not funny and have no sense of humor (based on Hitchens' definitions), because they never had to be. Women like them as they are.
Basically, it has nothing to do with gender.

"I've met many ... ( 1 day ago by infinit888)

"I've met many beautiful men who are not funny and have no sense of humor (based on Hitchens' definitions), because they never had to be. Women like them as they are." So what about the not so beautiful men? How are they gonna get laid?

Well, I thought ... ( 1 day ago by smileybeetle)

Well, I thought that was (at least a part of) his point - men are funny so they can get laid. I'm just saying that it can work in the other direction, too.

you obviously cant ... ( 1 day ago by mitchylerue)

you obviously cant read... or lack the intellect to put together an argument... obviously he is saying that men with average or unattractive physical appearances develop a sense of humor to attract females through charm... attractive men don't have to do that because girls will just want to fuck them just because they are hot

Something that I'm ... ( 1 day ago by Sejscube)

Something that I'm just not getting.. okay, so the basic premise has to do with humor and gender roles.. fine, fine.
The point on female comedians essentially using male comedy has me scratching my head a tad. Dykes.. okay. Butch.. okay. Jewish? Do tell - which part of 'jewish' comedy is inherently male in character, because I'm just not seeing it.

"you obviously cant ... ( 1 day ago by infinit888)

"you obviously cant read... or lack the intellect to put together an argument..." Oh I get it. The fact that I can't read or that I'm stupid presumably leads to a major flaw in his (Hitchens) reasoning. Why how could I not have seen that before... On a more serious note I still fail to see how Hitchens argument has a flaw. He set it up so that even if he is wrong he's right claiming that his intention was another all along. You have got to admire his wit.

And those men would ... ( 1 day ago by latuman)

And those men would then be selected out, isnt that right dear? You just answered your own argument. We havent even had selective pressures with social behavior that long. It hasn't got such an impact on us very much, but it does still operate somewhat.

Astonishing! ... ( 17 hours ago by WolfSyndrome)

Astonishing! Hitchens is more of a prick than I once thought possible!

doesnt mean hes ... ( 12 hours ago by lord69z)

doesnt mean hes wrong or right.

"most men.... ... ( 6 hours ago by J575)

"most men....fantastically unattractive" lmfao

Money. ( 34 minutes ago by rumisays)

Money.

Tell a friend: