What counts as funny, and what counts as offensive? The line can often seem to be drawn very thinly between the two, and more than one British comedian has recently become embroiled in controversy over the content of their jokes. The obvious example here is Frankie Boyle, whose joke topics have ranged from paedophilia to Katie Price’s disabled son, and from pornography to Jimmy Savile. Some of these jokes have caused widespread offence, and even demands in the media for Boyle to apologise to those he has insulted. Several of Boyle’s jokes – including the infamous ones made about the Queen and Rebecca Adlington – have been investigated by the BBC to see if they breach guidelines. Is such humour acceptable? Or can comedians go too far? On the one hand, no one wants to limit free speech. Comedians are of course entitled to make jokes about any subject that they like, but this does not mean that they should, or that we have to give them a platform. Some of Frankie Boyle’s jokes on sensitive topics – such as pornography or female masturbation – are genuinely funny. There is a reason why he is a successful comedian. However, part of this is due to the shock factor. Watching Mock the Week, for instance, you can clearly see that Boyle relies heavily on swearing, insults and jokes on controversial topics. None of this is bad in and of itself. The problem with this kind of offensive comedy is that it often targets the most marginalised groups in society. Take, for example, the recent controversy surrounding the ‘comedian’ Dapper Laughs. Dapper Laughs became famous for a series of short vines, before making the move to ITV 2 with a show entitled Dapper Laughs: On the Pull. In this, he set himself up as a ‘dating expert’, offering advice to men on how to attract women. His advice, however, was anything but helpful. Dapper’s version of comedy involved harassing, insulting and belittling multiple women, often using derogatory or sexist language.

There is nothing innovative in this. It is not new, exciting or unusual to dismiss and belittle women. When Dapper Laughs insults and degrades women, he behaves in exactly the same way as the men who shout at women in the street. He is engaging in the same kind of behaviour as the drunk ‘lads’ in Cindies who refuse to take no for an answer. He is perpetuating a culture in which ‘lads’ can make whatever jokes they like about women, no matter how offensive or sexist, and it is classed as ‘banter’. It is the same kind of humour that Facebook pages such as The Lad Bible, UniLad and the Tasteless Gentlemen trade in to get the maximum number of likes and shares. Legitimising this kind of humour creates an environment where women’s safety is put in jeopardy, and sexist tropes and ideas are justified.

The same argument can be made for other comedic shows in the media. Family Guy often toes the line between satire and offensiveness, with jokes often focused on disabilities, self-harm, ethnic minorities and paedophilia. One episode, however, highlights just how problematic such humour can be. An episode in the eighth season, entitled ‘Quagmire’s Dad’, deals with one of the protagonists discovering and dealing with the revelation that his father is actually a trans woman and is planning to transition. The episode handles the issue appallingly, making multiple transphobic and transmisogynist comments throughout the episode. These kinds of jokes have painful and real effects for transgender people, and transgender women in particular. It is dehumanising, opening up the possibility for prejudice and even violence against trans women.

At its worst, this is what offensive comedy does; it punches down rather than up, relying on tired stereotypes about the most vulnerable in society. Good jokes either punch up or rely on other means to generate humour. So many comedians from Charlie Brooker and Cameron Esposito to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey show how funny comedy can be when it’s not degrading minority groups. This is the kind of comedy we should be celebrating: smart, witty and genuinely funny. The likes of Dapper Laughs and Frankie Boyle can’t compare to that.