Joking for gender equality: subversive humor against sexism motivates collective action in men and women with weaker feminist identity

Abstract

Subversive humor has historically been considered a way of protesting, raising awareness, and seeking change. However, to date, no known empirical research has explored the consequences of exposure to humor that criticizes, confronts, and questions sexism (i.e., subversive humor against sexism or feminist humor). In the present research, we conducted two experiments to analyze the impact of exposure to subversive humor against sexism (vs. neutral humor) on the degree of involvement in collective action for gender equality, taking into account the feminist identity of participants. The results of Study 1 (n = 135) revealed that Spanish women and men with weaker feminist identification showed a higher proclivity to participate in collective action for gender equality after being exposed to subversive humor against sexism (vs. neutral humor). Study 2 (n = 134 Spanish women and men) replicated these results and expanded them to behavioral intentions to participate in this type of collective action. Our findings show the potential implications of using this type of humor for collective action for gender equality. Overall, subversive humor against sexism may function as a supportive tool to combat sexist attitudes, discrimination against women, and gender inequality by raising awareness in people with lower feminist identity to get them more involved in collective action. This approach would facilitate recruiting activists, getting more media coverage, and building a collective identity supporting mobilization against sexism.