Sexist Humor No Laughing Matter

I guess many of us supposed that the expression of certain attitudes through humour could be a way of testing the waters about a set of attitudes with the possibility of saying 'I was just joking, get a life' if the atmosphere gets chilly in response. So perhaps we're not surprised at this: "research demonstrates that exposure to sexist humor can create conditions that allow men – especially those who have antagonistic attitudes toward women – to express those attitudes in their behavior,” he said. “The acceptance of sexist humor leads men to believe that sexist behavior falls within the bounds of social acceptability.”
Again it's the issue of building a social context that encourages or discourages certain behaviours and even, a bit further down the line, attitudes. It illustrates the value there can be in being careful about language we use. Not because language creates thought or determines attitudes, but because it can signal and connote things that cause reflection and help rework our thinking. It can create conversations that enable us to explore how to reconceptualise relationships and attitudes. This is not the crude linguistic determinism that seems to have driven some of the PC language lobby. However, it is to recognise the connotative power of language and to use that to beging to raise issues and encourage rethinking attitudes.
Sexist Humor No Laughing Matter, Psychologist Says: