Dead baby jokes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dead baby jokes are a joke cycle reflecting dark comedy. The joke is presented in riddle form, beginning with a what question and concluded with a grotesque punch line answer.[1]

History[]

According to the folklorist scholar Alan Dundes, the dead baby joke cycle likely began in the early 1960s.[1] Dundes theorizes that the origin of the dead baby joke lies in the rise of second-wave feminism in the U.S. during that decade and its rejection of the traditional societal role for women, which included support for legalized abortion and contraceptives.[2][3] It has also been suggested that the jokes emerged in response to images of graphic violence, often involving infants, from the Vietnam War.[4]

In the twenty-first century, the popularity of the joke cycle has led to the creation of a number of websites dedicated to dead baby jokes.[5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Alan Dundes (July 1979). "The Dead Baby Joke Cycle". Western Folklore. 38 (3): 145–157. doi:10.2307/1499238. JSTOR 1499238. PMID 11633558.
  2. ^ "Jokes are a serious, 'psychic' business", San Francisco Examiner
  3. ^ "That's Not Funny - That's Sick // Folklorist Alan Dundes looks at the serious side of sick jokes". St. Petersburg Times. 2 December 1987.
  4. ^ Bronner, Simon J. (1988). American Children's Folklore. august house. pp. 127. ISBN 9780874830682.
  5. ^ Warner, Andrew (2008). P.S. Dead Baby Jokes Aren't Funny: The Grotesque in Sick Humor (M.A.). Truman State University.
Retrieved from ""