We’re big fans of the Men’s Humor Instagram page here at Bored Panda, so it’s actually not the first time we’ve featured it. This account shares hilarious memes, relatable posts and funny content that, contrary to what the account’s name suggests, can be enjoyed by all people! And it’s clear that the page has been successful in its goal to entertain followers, as it has amassed a whopping 4.1 million followers over the past 12 years.
Whether you’re looking for funny memes about what it’s like to be in a relationship, memes that you’ll relate to if you hate your job or simply silly observations about the human experience, you’ve come to the right place. Men’s Humor has captivated followers on Instagram, Facebook, and X, and now, the company even has their very own, thriving online shop!
While we all know that a funny joke is a funny joke, regardless of who says it, the name of this page did get me wondering if humor varies at all between genders. According to PsychCentral, the reason why men and women might sometimes find different things to be funny is because we often view humor in different ways.
“Although both sexes say they want a sense of humor, in our research women interpreted this as ‘someone who makes me laugh,’ and men wanted ‘someone who laughs at my jokes,’” Rod A. Martin of the University of Western Ontario explained. We all want to be funny and want to be around other funny people, but our definition of who is considered funny can vary.
PsychCentral also notes that women tend to share funny stories and take a narrative approach when trying to get others to laugh, meanwhile men are more inclined to use one-liners and slapstick comedy. Women are also more likely to use puns, wordplay and self-deprecating jokes, while men more often use physical and active humor. In fact, the way that men and women use humor tends to shift based on their audience as well.
Northwestern University psychologist Jennifer Hay found through taped conversations that men are much more likely to tease and one-up each other when only around other men than when they’re around women. Women, on the other hand, tease men more than they’ll tease fellow women.
Carol Vallone Mitchell at HuffPost also says that men and women sometimes have different goals that they’re trying to accomplish when using humor. She notes that boys are often taught about competition and trying to be “top dog” from a very young age, so they might use humor to gain status or to knock someone else down a peg. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to play games when they’re younger that build connections and necessitate working together. The way that we internalize these games from our youth can later impact how we decide to use humor.
Mitchell goes on to explain that men will be more likely to use jokes to subtly provide negative feedback or to “knock someone down a peg,” while a woman is more likely to use humor to break tension. They might want to provide comedic relief in a stressful situation or keep a running joke going during an intense meeting at work. Women are also less likely to use their humor to put others down, as they tend to utilize self-deprecating jokes instead.
IFLScience also explored what differences come up between what men and women find funny. Of course, there’s plenty of overlap. I can watch a comedic show with my partner, and we both laugh at plenty of the jokes. We can also send each other memes that we both find hysterical and enjoy the humor in them. But according to IFLScience, men are more likely to get a kick out of visual jokes while women prefer jokes that involve political commentary or touch on the dynamics of close relationships.
