Sorry, Onion, but I don’t find sexism masked as satire funny

I know this Onion piece is supposed to be funny — especially to fans of the Eagles and Giants — but all it does is perpetuate the bogus “toughness is a male trait” nonsense. Romo, The Onion’s crack satirists write, had an ovarian cyst removed, adding that he has “responded well to the procedure.”

“If we had waited any longer, it very well could have spread to his uterus. Hopefully Tony can still have children.”

Baskin told reporters that there will most likely be some scarring along the fallopian tubes, but Romo’s range of motion should remained unaffected.

Funny, right? But why? Humor, like art, works by disrupting expectations. Romo is a professional football player, which means he is supposed to be big and tough. His critics say he is not and the joke here plays off this, equating his lack of toughness with female sex organs. The joke, when stripped back, does nothing more than call Romo a girl.

Some may find that funny. I don’t.

Send me an e-mail.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet