Prejudice, Humor and

Disparagement humor (e.g., racist or sexist humor) is humor that denigrates, belittles, or maligns an individual or social group. Humor theorists have argued that such humor fosters the expression of prejudice—a negative attitude toward a social group or a person perceived to be a member of that group. Empirical research on the relationship between disparagement humor and prejudice has been guided by two different conceptualizations of disparagement humor: disparagement humor as a “producer” of prejudice, and disparagement humor as a “releaser” of prejudice.