Friend Of Homosexual Not Sure If He’s Allowed To Make Gay Joke Yet

Story by Carson Vaughan 

| Published Sep 30, 2008

CAMPUS—Despite having recently fabricated a brilliantly clever gay joke, University of Nebraska-Lincoln junior Stephen Ellis waits in limbo to use it, apparently undecided as to whether or not his newly exposed gay friend will find it amusing or offensive.

“This is a really uncomfortable situation for me,” Ellis said. “I’ve never heard a better gay joke, but…eh, I don’t know. I’m just not sure about this.

“On the one hand, if I say the joke and he likes it, I get to be the funny guy. But on the other hand, if he takes it offensively, I become the homophobe. And what if he does laugh? Does that mean he likes it, or does it mean he doesn’t want to make me feel bad? Is he laughing because he thinks I feel bad that I made him feel bad?”

Ellis said he has come close to saying the joke more than once but has never carried it through. Instead, he said, he lets the conversation slip into “a very long, awkward moment for both of us.”

Ellis’ hesitation comes at a time when gay jokes are on the rise. According to the president of UNL’s Gay Student Alliance, Shane Rakes, the GSA has received a growing number of inquiries into the appropriateness of certain gay jokes.

“This is becoming a serious social problem,” Rakes said after calling his friend a “fag” for spilling his soft drink on the floor. “Those who aren’t gay think it’s okay if it’s funny, but that’s just not the case.”

He added: “Seriously man, put some water on that. Stop being such a queer. It’s going to be all sticky now.”

A new round of informational pamphlets directed to heterosexual students released by UNL’s LGBTQA resource center gives several tips for indicating if a gay friend is ready for gay jokes.

Most students, however, say the pamphlets, titled “Is He Ready?,” do very little to help remedy the situation.

“I’ve read the pamphlet a couple times, and I still have no idea if he’s ready,” Ellis said. “He makes gay jokes himself, but he is gay. I’m not gay, but I make gay jokes to my non-gay friends. If I make a gay joke to my gay friend, isn’t that just being inclusive?"

“I’m just so confused right now.”