Product Code Database
In comedy, a dick joke, dork joke, penis joke, cock joke or knob joke is a joke that makes a direct or indirect reference to a human penis (known in slang parlance as a dick), also used as an umbrella term for . The famous quote from Mae West, "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just excited to see me?" (alluding to an erection) is cited as an example of a penis joke. The "dick joke" has been described as "often used as a metaphor for the male-defined nature of stand-up comedy".Joanne R. Gilbert, Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique (2004), p. 68. Dick jokes have also been noted to be both popular and effective with audiences:
Comedian Bill Hicks satirized the popularity of dick jokes in his own act:
However, due to their prurient nature, comedians who rely on explicit humor must find less controversial subject matter if they wish to expand their presence to more restrictive venues like network television and . In short, "young professionals whose success has been achieved on the stepladder of dick jokes must eventually change their acts".Robert A. Stebbins, Laugh-Makers: Stand-Up Comedy as Art, Business, and Life-Style (1990), p. 103.
An example of a joke of this type relying on an unspoken connotation is:
Because the name Richard can be abbreviated as "Dick", in some jokes a person named "Richard" or "Dick" is presented as a double entendre. Joel Stice, " 10 Dicks Who Made it Onto the Local News ", CollegeHumor.com (August 15, 2014): "There's nothing wrong with the name "Dick" but when your name is literally a dick joke, maybe think about going by Richard".
|
|
