Jerry Lewis

As long as there have been jokes, there have been people saying that women can’t tell them.

It can be tempting to dismiss recent “women aren’t funny” firestorms as yet another by-product of our internet era, where we are instantly alerted the second that anyone—from Adam Carolla to some yahoo with a Reddit account—makes an inflammatory statement about anything.

But the claim that women aren’t funny isn’t just new to our times. Here I've compiled a brief, totally incomplete history of people publicly peddling this line bull. Though the idea that women aren't funny hasn't changed much, public reactions to it have steadily changed.

You already know Jerry Lewis is a douchebag. His misogyny and homophobia are well established. There are even uncyclopedic entries on his douchedom.

But in some respects Jerry has not gotten the credit he deserves. He's also a patronizing ableist who's successfully promoted out-dated, prejudicial attitudes about disability. In recognition of this noncomplishment, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to give him an Oscar – for being a humanitarian. As a disability rights activist, I'm sure Jerry considers me one of the "leeches. . . . Disabled people who are . . . bitter at the bad hand they've been dealt." Whatever. I've still gotta ask: Who's worse? The douchebag who spews this stuff, or the Board of Douches that gave him an award for it?