Ellen hates when I crack a “that’s what she said” joke. My speech team keeps track of who has the most. Somehow I always end up with more opportunities around the former and less around the latter. Such is life, I suppose. But I know an awful lot of people agree with Ellen. They think “that’s what she said” is demoralizing to women, they think it’s vulgar and crass. But I disagree. (Well, not with the vulgar thing. It’s definitely not a PG joke)
Personally, I love a good “that’s what she said” joke. I find them hysterical in a way a “proper” young lady probably shouldn’t. Why?
The reason is short and to the point. “Thats What She Said” jokes (henceforth to be called TWSS) remind us not to take life too seriously. TWSS jokes surprise us, make us laugh about base sexual desires, things that we need to stop taking so seriously. I’m a prude virgin, and even though sex means and will mean a lot to me, sex isn’t this magical experience anymore. It’s not a mystery, not really, and it’s certainly not hard to find. And making fun of it reminds us of that.
I love TWSS jokes because if you can’t laugh at the serious things, what can you do? I’ve spent my entire life taking things people say about me to heart. I’ve spent years and years being depressed because I don’t know what else to feel. TWSS jokes break up that sadness and pain to remind me that even the most serious things are kind of funny if you take a step back.
This is a really, really understated version of what I had in my head, but you should just be happy you’re getting a post at all. Me from the future, I hope you’re having fun in Hungary. 🙂
