Racist humour and Hypocrisy: “Do as I Say, not as I Do”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
racist humour, falsehood, emotions, reactions, BrazilAbstract
In Brazil, a supposed cordiality in social relations has led to a specific expression of racism in which laughter is often used as a mediator. This work analyses the relations between humour and racism in two studies. The first study involved 150 participants (63.8% female, M = 23.93 years, SD = 8.08), and the second, 35 people (67.6% female, M = 25.20 years, SD = 8.55). The results suggest that while participants predicted they would be very upset and defend the victim if they were present in the situation depicted (Study 1), they showed little emotional concern and no reaction when actually present at the scene (Study 2). These findings demonstrate the discrepancy between what people say they would do and what they actually do, contributing to a better understanding of the expressions and perpetuation of racism through humour.
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