Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> writes: > The joke cuts both ways.
This is the Just World fallacy: you're implying that, because the same joke can be applied equally well to women or men, that therefore it is equally harmful. The fallacy is to ignore the fact that the playing field is not level. Yes, that same joke can semantically be applied equally to men. But it is disproportionately harmful to women, because there is a significantly greater level of sexism against women already. Apologetics defending sexist jokes against women delay the time when women can feel that they are as free to participate in this community as men. Actions appropriate for a level playing field are not appropriate in our case. -- \ “We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the | `\ sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his | _o__) wife is beautiful and his children smart.” —Henry L. Mencken | Ben Finney -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list