How far will you go? Where will the line be drawn for a simple joke? Roxane Gay is an opinion writer, author, and professor at Purdue University. Gay’s works consists of mainly opinion-based writings about controversial topics. In Gay’s article “Daniel Tosh and Rape Jokes: Still Not Funny,” she argues about the seriousness of rape jokes and how it is not an issue to joke about. Rape jokes are not funny at all, nor is it appropriate. Roxane Gay uses a stern, sassy tone in this article to raise awareness of the seriousness of rape jokes, and to show people that it really is not funny at all, despite the joke.

In Roxane Gay’s article “Daniel Tosh and Rape Jokes: Still Not Funny,” Gay’s main claim is that people should be aware of the real seriousness of rape jokes, and that rape is not an issue to joke about. Gay states “Rape humor is to remind women that they are not quite equal” (88). This supports the fact that rape jokes are not only inappropriate and not funny, but it also degrades women. It encourages rape. On page 89, Gay points out that if someone like Daniel Tosh, a celebrity with a large audience from all over the world, makes these rape jokes, it will only give more people the idea that rape is okay and acceptable if Daniel Tosh is joking about it so much. And Tosh probably is not the only one doing this. Comedians from all over the world make jokes like these because they talk about things that no one speaks of, which is how they draw their audience. If more and more people continue to do this, people will begin to think rape is a normal thing with no repercussions or consequences. The organization of this article is very effective in Gay’s argument against rape jokes. She first starts off the article by briefly telling a story about a boy in school who always made inappropriate jokes, resulting to him being a total outcast in school. Gay uses this example as an introduction to Tosh and the inappropriate jokes. She then criticizes Tosh’s humor as immature and uses that as evidence in her argument. This led to Gay talking about the underlying message that these rape jokes tell. It degrades women, and promotes rape as usual thing that society should accept if there are so many jokes about it. Concluding the article and her argument, Gay makes a very stern statement expressing how shocked she was when she discovered that only one person stood up to Tosh and said rape jokes were not funny. This just goes to show how many people ignore it, thus allowing more and more people to make these kinds of jokes. If no one speaks up and says “No,” then it is not going to change anything. 

Throughout this article, Gay mainly uses pathos as a rhetorical appeal. One line that really stood out was on page 88, Gay said “There’s no better follow-up for a rape joke than a gang rape joke. Because if rape is funny, gang rape is funnier…” This supports her argument against rape jokes because it opens people’s minds to the seriousness of rape jokes. This statement alone silences people about rape jokes. In the article, Gay uses the words “we,” showing that even though she is a successful author, she considers herself equal to everyone else. It shows that she is one of them. By doing this, it allows more people to listen to what she is actually saying. She does not use specific statistics, but she says “We know the appalling statistics. We know sexual violence is embedded within our culture…” (89) By not having actual statistics, but saying that we should be aware of it, shows how common sexual violence like rape really is. It is so common that Gay assumes that majority of the people know how big and serious of an issue it is. She effectively uses this as a way to show how if no one speaks up about rape jokes and sexual violence, it will not change anything. All of this comes together to support her central claim of putting an end to rape jokes and to promoting awareness to sexual assault and its seriousness. 

Roxae Gay wrote the article “Daniel Tosh and Rape Jokes: Still Not Funny” as a way to raise awareness to the seriousness of rape jokes, as harmless as they may seem. She points out its underlying message and how if it continues on, sexual violence might become acceptable in today’s society since well-known people like Daniel Tosh is making jokes about it. However, it is not only the one who is making the jokes’ fault, but also the audience if they stay silent. If no one speaks up and says no to rape jokes, and jokes about sexual violence in general, than less and less people would make jokes about it. Change does not happen if no one does anything about it.
