While I think that that comment would come across as crass coming from almost anyone, I don't think it's so much a double standard as it is knowing what works coming from whom. For instance...I may make middle-aged woman jokes because that's what I am. But if the same comment is penned by a 25 year old man, I'm probably going to find it offensive...because it is not his comment to make. My in-laws are Jewish and use phrases and jokes that I will never utter because I am not Jewish and they don't come across the same coming from me. At the risk of beating a dead horse, one more example... Corine, you have been known to make "short" jokes at your own expense, which I have generally found to be cute and endearing. Were I, being quite tall, to make the same comments, they would, most likely, be perceived as patronizing or insulting.
I cringe hearing guy talk coming from women, woman-talk coming from guys, gay venacular coming from straights, ghetto-talk out of white suburban mouths... It's all about knowing the context. Can some people cross the boundaries and make it work? Absolutely. (For a fine example, see RobbieJ in Basketcase...tonight, The Duplex, 7 pm...) But you have to be VERY skilled with words, and most of us just aren't.
And thus ends Iflit's Saturday morning muse. Hope I didn't kill the thread.
***edited to remove a half dozen extraneous and irritating commas***
Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10
Updated On: 5/7/05 at 09:04 AM