Are Men Funnier than Women?

This morning I read an article titled “Men funnier than women, but only by a hair” on psypost.org. This article was based on a research study done at UC San Diego on the stereotype that men are funnier than women.  What was interesting to me about this article was that 90% of both male and female participants in the study agreed with the stereotype that men are funnier than women.  There has been much debate about this topic over the years and sometimes it can be very controversial. It is harder for women to make it in the comedy world that is often dominated by men. Most people can name plenty of male comedians but only a small handful of female comediennes because there are plenty more males than females who are making a living as a comedian.  The recent comedy “Bridesmaids” written by Kristin Wiig of Saturday Night Live was one of the first comedies written by a woman and with a predominantly female cast to have crictical acclaim and box office success.

Are men funnier than women or is is too hard for women to break down the barriers of a male dominated profession? If men are funnier than women (even if it is by a hair) what might be some reasons for that? Are men socialized from a very young age to use humor as a way to gain success and be more likable?  Another interesting point to note is that women tend to list ‘sense of humor’ as one of the top qualities that they look for when dating a man. Could that be another reason why it may be important for a man to be funny or possess a good sense of humor?  I’d welcome all thoughts on this topic in the comment section below!