Ethnic joke

An ethnic joke is a remark attempting humor relating to an ethnic, racial or cultural group, often referring to a stereotype of the group in question for its punchline.

History

Ethnic jokes have been around since people first noticed they were different from one another, and ethnocentrism and a sense of ethnic identity appeared. Jokes feed upon difference and distinctions (not only ethnic) and if one of the functions of ethnic jokes is to ridicule and depreciate these in-out groups, another function is to maintain and strengthen a sense of one’s identity in some in-group. It may be that ethnic humour helps people deal with hostility verbally instead of physically, but these slurs also reinforce stereotypes and sometimes lead to calls for violence. Ethnic jokes are often considered to be offensive and as a form of hate speech. Perceived as such, they may sometimes be referred to as race jokes, or racist jokes.

But in other cases the ethnic jokes are addressed against those who are historically seen as the aggressors, like the multiple jokes published in Mexico about the Americans (also called gringos there). Similar jokes have also been published in Barcelona. However, Jew jokes and Italian American jokes in the USA have generated controversy because of how offensive they can be, though not as politically charged as African American or black jokes told by non-blacks in the USA, which are viewed as rude, immoral and socially unacceptable.