The Conditions
A basic set of conditions must be met in order for this joke to tickle us into laughter-- we must recognize that horses are not usually identified as a gay or lesbian, we must know that horses eat hay, we must know that "hay" sounds like "hey," we must understand that there are stereotypes about how gay and lesbian people speak, and so on. If we trace the outline of these conditions, the pattern of a community emerges. Depending on the joke, this community might be ethnic, religious, etc..., but in the case of gay and lesbian horses, the community is cultural. In order for this joke to be evoke laughter, the listener and teller must be a part of the cultural community that fulfills the conditions set forth by the joke.
What's so Funny?
I told this joke to a lesbian friend of mine and instead of laughter I got a stern: "not cool." So we're not laughing at horses when we tell this joke, but maybe we're laughing at people. It's funny to imagine a limp-wristed horse chowing down on some hay, and after laughing at that image, it's funny to imagine a horse in leather attire stomping the ground in defiance while it eats. But maybe this is only funny to those of us who have never been stereotyped in these ways.
Ted Cohen, a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, claims that a successful joke "brings us to the recognition of our common humanity." Because it makes us laugh, this joke must resonate with something within us, and in telling the joke and receiving laughter we are confirming that that something is also within another human being. So what is that something? Do the gay and lesbian horses stir up our own misunderstandings about gays and lesbians? Does it highlight our role in in furthering what some might consider harmful stereotypes? Is that funny?
