The topic of sex differences is often viewed as controversial, where both academics and laypeople debate whether men and women differ in their behaviors, abilities, preferences, and other attributes. The debates are wide-ranging from basic disagreements on what these differences are, if they even exist, how important they may be, and to what is the best way to explain them. The field of humor research is not exempt from such controversies, with researchers arguing about whether men and women differ in their uses and experiences of humor, and what might be the underpinning causes of such differences, if true. Perhaps the most divisive topic in humor research is sex differences in humor ability, where Christopher Hitchens once famously claimed that “women are not funny” and went on to explain why that may be (Hitchens 2007). Such an outrageous proposition is clearly untrue, and may promote culturally pervasive stereotypes about women. (For those interested in a more nuanced view on the topic and a systematic review of sex difference in humor ability, see: Greengross et al. 2020). One of the reasons that the subject of sex differences is so contentious stems from disagreements about the very definition of sex itself. People often confuse sex with gender, and use them interchangeably (some of the authors in this special issue use the term sex, while others use gender). However, while not always explicitly discussed, the distinction between sex and gender is important and should be clear. Sex is a biological term, defined by the reproductive organs of males and females and applied to all species in the animal kingdom that reproduce sexually. Gender, on the other hand, typically refers to the set of behaviors, characteristics, or stereotypes that are associated with each sex (Torgrimson and Minson 2005). While sex, by definition, includes only two forms, gender, as a social construct, can take many shapes and is much more flexible, ever changing and developing. (Facebook, for example, allows people to define their gender in 58 different ways.)

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幽默中的性别差异：介绍和概述

性别差异的话题通常被视为有争议的，学术界和外行都在争论男性和女性的行为、能力、偏好和其他属性是否不同。争论的范围很广，从关于这些差异是什么（如果它们存在的话）、它们可能有多重要以及解释它们的最佳方式的基本分歧。幽默研究领域也不能免除此类争议，研究人员争论男性和女性在幽默的使用和体验上是否存在差异，如果情况属实，这些差异的根本原因可能是什么。也许幽默研究中最具争议的话题是幽默能力的性别差异，克里斯托弗·希钦斯 (Christopher Hitchens) 曾以“女人不好笑”着称，并接着解释了为什么会这样（希钦斯，2007 年）。这种令人发指的主张显然是不真实的，并且可能会促进文化上普遍存在的关于女性的刻板印象。（对于那些对这个话题有更细致入微的观点以及对幽默能力的性别差异的系统评价感兴趣的人，请参阅：Greengross 等人，2020 年）。性别差异这一主题如此有争议的原因之一是对性别本身的定义存在分歧。人们经常将性与性别混淆，并将它们互换使用（本期特刊中的一些作者使用术语“性”，而其他人则使用“性别”）。然而，虽然并不总是明确讨论，但性别和性别之间的区别很重要，应该很清楚。性别是一个生物学术语，由雄性和雌性的生殖器官定义，适用于动物界中所有有性繁殖的物种。另一方面，性别 通常指与每个性别相关的一组行为、特征或刻板印象（Torgrimson and Minson 2005）。虽然根据定义，性只包括两种形式，但作为一种社会结构，性别可以有多种形式，而且更加灵活，不断变化和发展。（例如，Facebook 允许人们以 58 种不同的方式定义自己的性别。）