The Funny One

I've recently observed how there always seems to be one person in a couple who's The Funny One while the other provides the necessary supporting role. More often than not, the man is the funny one. What happens though when the couple in question is of the same-sex variety? There is still a funny one but the gender is no longer a factor.

That men are funnier than women generally speaking is widely known, feminists' complaints and political correctness notwithstanding.

Apparently, there are biological/evolutionary reasons for this. Being completely scientifically illiterate I am at the mercy of documentaries and articles which discuss this (not many), as well as commentators' and intellektchuls' ... well, comments. (For example, Christopher Hitchens wrote a piece on the subject which got him into a little trouble with the Thought Police, but then he is used to that-- and sometimes deserves it.) So the explanation for this difference between men and women goes something like this: the man tries his hardest to make a woman laugh because if she does she signals physically that she is likely to say yes to him, thereby increasing his chances of spreading his DNA.

Some of the signs include: throwing head back, showing back teeth, touching his arm/shoulder/knee, showing palm of hand. These are interesting because they act on the man's "biological subconscious" or whatever it's called by suggesting the way a woman looks during sex (when he presumably can see her back teeth...I'll skip details. You get the picture.)

So then what is the biological/evolutionary role of humour between gay people? In other words, the biological signals being necessarily adjusted to procreation, how come gay men have retained their sense of humour given they're not trying to attract women? I'm almost sure I'm being a little obtuse here, given that gays aren't a race and therefore do not pass on their biological inheritance, but how about the sociological aspects? Surely their 'biological subconscious' knows that what attracts men isn't necessarily (biologically) someone who can make them laugh?

Is there an overriding mechanism or learned behaviour which trumps sexual orientation and circumvents evolutionary and biological imperatives?

Why does Donald Duck wear a towel around his waist when he comes out of the shower but goes commando the rest of the time