Ribaldry

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A urinal in Thailand with a ribald depiction

Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on

subversive. Ribaldry typically depends on a shared background of sexual conventions and values, and its comedy
generally depends on seeing those conventions broken.

The ritual taboo-breaking that is a usual counterpart of ribaldry underlies its controversial nature and explains why ribaldry is sometimes a subject of censorship. Ribaldry, whose usual aim is not "merely" to be sexually stimulating, often does address larger concerns than mere sexual appetite. However, being presented in the form of comedy, these larger concerns may be overlooked by censors.

Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality, rather than to present sexual stimulation either overtly or artistically. Also, ribaldry may use sex as a metaphor to illustrate some non-sexual concern, in which case ribaldry borders satire.

Ribaldry differs from black comedy in that the latter deals with topics which would normally be considered painful or frightening, whereas ribaldry deals with topics that would only be considered offensive.

Examples

stereotypes

Ribaldry is present to some degree in every culture and has likely been around for all of human history. Works like

Gargantua and other works. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne and The Lady's Dressing Room by Jonathan Swift are also in this genre; as is Mark Twain's long-suppressed 1601
.

Another example of ribaldry is "

The Sot-Weed Factor are probably better classified as ribaldry than as either pornography or erotica.[citation needed
]

Bawdy song

A bawdy song is a humorous song that emphasises sexual themes and is often rich with

City Waites and other singers. Sailor's songs tend to be quite frank about the exploitative nature of the relationship between men and women. There are many examples of folk songs in which a man encounters a woman in the countryside. This is followed by a short conversation, and then sexual intercourse, e.g. "The Game of All Fours". Neither side demonstrates any shame or regret. If the woman becomes pregnant, the man will not be there anyway. Rugby songs are often bawdy. Examples of bawdy folk songs are: "Seventeen Come Sunday" and "The Ballad of Eskimo Nell". Robert Burns compiled The Merry Muses of Caledonia (the title is not Burns's), a collection of bawdy lyrics that were popular in the music halls of Scotland as late as the 20th century. In modern times Hash House Harriers have taken on the role of tradition-bearers for this kind of song. The Unexpurgated Folk Songs of Men (Arhoolie 4006) is a gramophone record containing a collection of American bawdy songs recorded in 1959.[2]

Blue comedy

Dave Attell has been described as a blue comic by his peers.

Blue comedy is comedy that is

off-colour, risqué, indecent, or profane, largely about sex. It often contains profanity or sexual imagery that may shock and offend some audience members.[citation needed
]

"Working blue" refers to the act of using swear words and discussing things that people would not discuss in "polite society". A "blue comedian" or "blue comic" is a comedian who usually performs risqué routines layered with curse words.

There is a common belief that comedian

Chaucer
by publicly reading some of his bluest productions unexpurgated. The reader would probably be locked up."

Private events at show business clubs such as the Masquers often showed this blue side of otherwise clean-cut comedians; a recording survives of one Masquers roast from the 1950s with Jack Benny, George Jessel, George Burns, and Art Linkletter all using highly risqué material and obscenities. Many comedians who are normally family-friendly might choose to work blue when off-camera or in an adult-oriented environment; Bob Saget exemplified this dichotomy. Bill Cosby's 1969 record album 8:15 12:15 records both his family-friendly evening standup comedy show, and his blue midnight show, which included a joke about impregnating his wife "right through the old midnight trampoline" (her diaphragm) and other sexual references.[3]

Some comedians build their careers on blue comedy. Among the best known of these are

African American form of blue spoken word recitation called signifying or toasting. Dave Attell has also been described by his peers as one of the greatest modern-day blue comics.[4]

On talk radio in the United States and elsewhere, blue comedy is a staple of the shock jock's repertoire. The use of blue comedy over American radio airwaves is severely restricted due to decency regulations; the Federal Communications Commission can levy fines against radio stations that air obscene content.

Blue literature

As a part of English literature, blue literature dates back to at least Middle English, while bawdy humor is a central element in works of such writers as Shakespeare and Chaucer. Examples of blue literature are also present in various cultures, among different social classes, and genders.[5] Until the 1940s, writers of English-language blue literature were almost exclusively men; since then it has become possible for women to build a commercial career on blue literature.[5]: 170  While no extensive cross-cultural study has been made in an attempt to prove the universality of blue literature, oral tradition around the world suggests that this may be the case.[5]: 169 

See also

References

  1. ^ "Why is it called blue comedy anyways?". Under The Moonlight. 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. ^ Sandberg, L. & Weissman, D. (1976) The Folk Music Sourcebook. New York: Knopf; p. 134
  3. ^ Carruthers, Sean (2011). "Bill Cosby: 8:15 12:15 - Bill Cosby | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. ^ MMPC (2016-03-04), Bill Burr - Christopher Cross / Go See Dave Attell, archived from the original on 2021-11-17, retrieved 2018-04-23
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8122-1972-2
    .

Further reading

External links

  • The dictionary definition of ribaldry at Wiktionary
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