Is testosterone making you laugh?

A women can be obsessed with a movie star, like Brad Pitt — hello. And you could say Angelina, I could be obsessed with Angelina. I just want to wet her lips and just stick her to something. And also, you could say, obsessed with rock and roll stars — you know, it’s like, women rush to the stage, fainting. It was like that for Elvis, for the Beatles, for Mick Jagger, just to say, “This is your baby!” But women don’t rush to the stage for comedians. I mean, basically, if they throw their panties on the stage for me, it’s because they want them back fluffed and folded and back by Friday. — US presidential candidate Tom Dobbs, played by Robin Williams in Man of the Year

On the contrary, Mr. Dobbs. Women absolutely love funny guys. When we’re in a particularly girly and cheesy mood, my girl friends and I make lists of what we want in our future husbands. Aside from the staple requirements (sweet, hard-working, intelligent), funny almost always comes up. For us, it’s a major bonus when a guy can seriously make us laugh. I’ve read that laughter increases the oxygen level in your body, so it might simply be light-headedness that makes funny guys attractive, but we’re absolutely charmed by crazy antics, goofy behaviour, witty lines, and even corny pick-up lines.

On the flipside, however, I noticed that when guys make their own lists (on the very rare occasions that they’re feeling sentimental and emotional as well), funny is never something they’re looking for in girls. They’re bound to mention “good personality” or “interesting,” but they never say “funny.” I’m sure that guys think that humorous banter with girls is a plus, but it’s not something they look for.

This duality has always mystified and frustrated me, especially when it comes to entertainment. For one thing, the trailblazers in comedy are always men, like the members of Hollywood’s illustrious “Frat Pack”: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Jack Black. For chick flicks, the comedy seems to be a circumstantial element thrown in the romantic, action or whatever plot. Those movies never gross as much either, or become as iconic as the men’s movies.

I came across an article on BBC news online (www.bbc.co.uk) that says men are naturally “more comedic” than women because of their testosterone. According to Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, males make more jokes than women, and these jokes tend to be more aggressive as well. He believes that humor develops out of aggression, generally considered a masculine trait, caused by male hormones.

Professor Shuster conducted an interesting study — he got on his unicycle (yes, those things still exist, and unicycling is a hobby of the professor’s) and rode through the streets of Newcastle and Tyne. Out of the 400 reactions he recorded, almost half were verbal, and most of them came from men. The article says, “Very few of the women made comic or snide remarks, while 75 percent of the men attempted comedy — mostly shouting out things like ‘Lost your wheel?’ for example.” The professor goes on to explain that aggression is sublimated and hidden through comedy, thus resulting in snide comments.

This makes a lot of sense, but of course, I don’t believe than this means that women aren’t naturally funny. Perhaps the study reveals how men and women use humor differently. In men, humor might be a tool to attract attention. In prehistoric times, cavemen might have shown their aggression through unintelligible but barbaric yawps and forceful pounding of the ground. In modern times, they make jokes to stand out, to make girls smile, or to put down others whom they regard as a threat. Perhaps they don’t look for humor in a partner because they don’t want to feel overpowered.

True enough, most funny women are the more aggressive types. Our local queens of comedy — for example, Ai-Ai De las Alas, Pokwang and Rufa Mae Quinto — may not be Maria Claras, but they have their own unique brand of comedy. Who can resist Ai-Ai’s colorful acting in her movies, or Rufa Mae’s hilarious comments in her hosting stints? In Hollywood, you’ve got to love and respect women like Tina Fey, who prove that smart girls can write and perform comedy with the best of them, and Amy Poehler, who shows her adaptability in different roles. Women no longer have to be play “dumb blonde” roles or any roles that comedy relegates them to.

Ultimately, humor, whether it comes from men or women, brings a certain joy to any relationship, to any life. If humor does come from aggression, perhaps it’s our innate instinct to express ourselves as we move forward in life. Humans are constantly trying to express themselves in art, science, technology. Why not in humor? In fact, it’s one of the more interesting ways to be show your aggression. Maybe aggression is really passion for life. Laughter is an audible manifestation of happiness, and whether it comes from knock-knock jokes or the irony of life, we all could use a little more of it in our lives. Bring on the testosterone!