Is it safe to say that sometimes stereotypes are funny?

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Let's just go ahead and leave this first one alone, but for the most part I think that most of us can comfortably say that we notice stereotypes in our daily lives. While I don't know if it's necessary to point them out, they are hilarious to see when they actually do happen.

Let me assure you, this won't be a preachy entry talking about the damaging effects of stereotypes, there's plenty of articles out there that will talk about that. Instead, I'd rather talk about this generally uncomfortable topic, and see if we can find the humor in some of the most common ones.


Watch an episode of "Mad Men" and you'll undoubtedly see all sorts of older stereotypes; rich guys nailing their secretaries, pregnant mother's smoking, and more rich guys cheating on their wives. Now these are all fun to watch on TV but the fact that they're on television takes away from the fact that this kind of stuff actually happens.

With Tiger Woods we witnessed what, in the stereotypical world, we can call a double-whammy. Tiger, who has a partial Asian background, is also African American. When his now ex-wife Elin Nordegren seemingly initially found out about Woods' indiscretions, he hopped in his Escalade and proceeded to slam into a tree. Sleeping pills or not we can't help but notice the coincidence here. Then, when the girls he was involved with came out we truly saw something special. Now this isn't to say that every Asian is bad driver and that all African American men like fat white women, but when we saw the case with Tiger you can't help but find it somewhat humorous. Admittedly, being neither Asian nor African-American this is an uncomfortable topic to talk about so, we'll move on.

My point, though, is that just because stereotypes are generalized conceptions that can sometimes be hurtful, one can't help but have a chuckle when they actually happen. If, for instance, a big female softball player steps up to the plate. She proceeds to hit the game winning ball over the stands and out of the park, she runs the bases, and as she comes to home plate she jumps into the arms of her companion and the two women have a celebratory kiss. Is the feeling in the stands of shock? No, of course not... fucking homophobes.