Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career Money
    • Health Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes amp; Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • NYFW
    • Life In Plastic
    • Cari Champion
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Psychosis
    1. Sex love

    6 Types of Humor That Won't Work with the Ladies

    Women tell me that sense of humor and ability to make them laugh is number one on their list for attraction even higher than appearance.

    By Rich Santos
    Published 22 September 2010 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Women tell me that sense of humor/ability to make them laugh is number one on their list for attraction — even higher than appearance.

    Have I managed to find the incorrect type of humor to attract women? If I was doing it the right way, maybe I'd have lots of dates.

    I won't give in and say my other features (appearance, income, etc.) are so horrible that they are trumping my sense of humor.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    So, something is off about my sense of humor, and I have to figure out what it is. To do this, I'm going to do a little audit of my main go-tos:


    Self-Deprecation

    I'm much more comfortable when I'm making fun of myself and highlighting how everything goes wrong for me. I think this can be endearing, because I love people who can laugh at themselves, and we can all wallow in our mutual lameness.

    But I may be overdoing it because my buddy is always telling me to ease up on the self-deprecation when we are out, when I'm talking to a girl about how I don't have enough money, my teams always lose, I'm bad in bed, and my jeans feel too tight. Come to think of it, that's pretty bad.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.


    Bathroom Humor

    Growing up with my sisters, I learned that they are just as gross as I am...actually maybe not — I pride myself on being particularly gross.

    I recently bought a fart machine, and my buddy and I laugh at it every time we press the button. OK, maybe that's a little lowbrow and simple, but it is quite joyous.

    My repertoire of bathroom humor goes well beyond farts, but because my sisters and girlfriends think that stuff is funny, I occasionally get in trouble talking about it in front of women.


    Quirky, Off-Kilter Quotes and References

    I love quoting movies, especially bad ones.

    There's this awful movie called The Room, written, directed, starring, and produced by the bush-league actor Tommy Wiseau. My buddies and I are obsessed and can't stop quoting the movie...but it's so underground, most women are just confused when I quote it.

    Other movies I love to quote are Airplane, any Mel Brooks, Lord of the Rings trilogy, and also random movies that my sisters and I grew up watching.

    The problem with this brand of humor is that most people don't get it — it's a little bit too niche.


    Blasé Attitude

    I deal with crisis by finding the humor in it. One time my buddy and I ran out of gas (after he told me to fill up the tank), and he got out of the car, kicked the tires, and freaked out. I, on the other hand, laughed and reveled in the adventure that was about to take place.

    Women find this attitude either refreshing and fun or extremely frustrating. I'm hoping to find a woman who handles crisis like me, but I don't know if she's out there.


    Girl Moments

    I make many female jokes at my own expense: I'm not feeling beautiful, I'm having a bad hair day, these pants make me look fat. It might be funny, but I'm also acting like one of the girls.


    Physical Craziness

    I have a thing I do with my friend called Modern Art. We'll be at a party, and I'll fall to the ground and freeze in some strange position. He acts as art critic, inspecting me from every angle.

    That friend and I also freestyle on the streets: walk up to an inanimate object and perform a dance move against it, then move on. Women always beg us to freestyle, but they never go home with us.

    Dancing doesn't work for me either. One time I spotted a cute girl in the corner of a bar and approached her, uncorking a smooth, rollicking personal Riverdance for her like a court jester entertaining a king. She said: "I love it, keep going." So I did...and then she patted me on the head like a pet and said: "I'm going home with my boyfriend now, bye."

    Most guys are stoic, don't' smile much, are mysterious, and not even nice most of the time — but they get the girls. So, I don't understand why women say they want a guy who makes them laugh. I make women laugh; that's one thing I can do.

    So, I'm either making them laugh the wrong way or women don't really want a guy who makes them laugh. Or, maybe I'm entertaining but not showing enough of a serious side.

    Is sense of humor very important for you in a guy? What kind of sense of humor is attractive, and what kind is a turnoff? What should I use more of, from the list above?

    Explore More
    dating relationships
    Rich Santos
    Latest in Sex love
    Two women covered in blood (Gillian Anderson as Billy and Hannah Einbinder as Kris) stand closely together in a convenience store aisle, with their intertwined hands on a cart. A still from Jane Schoenbrun#039;s #039;Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma#039; (2026).
    Movies Everyone Has Thoughts About Gen Z and Sex. 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma' Gets It Right
    Princess Diana wears a shimmering blue mini dress and carries a matching blue silk clutch bag
    Royals How Diana Navigated Being a "Newly Divorced Princess"
     
     
    Queen Camilla wears off-white and pale green on her wedding day, including a white hat, to marry King Charles in 2005
    Royals Why Queen Camilla "Felt a Little Broken" on Her Wedding Day
    Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married at Madison Square Garden and a sign announces their nuptials outside
    Celebrity What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Said in Their Wedding Vows
     
     
    Latest in Features
    women sweating and working out next to electrolyte powders
    Wellness Electrolyte Powders Are Everywhere—But Do You Really Need Them?
    A split image of author R.F. Kuang, resting her head on her hand while sitting with her shoulder propped on a restaurant booth table, next to the cover art for #039;Taipei Story.#039;
    Books R.F. Kuang Shares Her Favorite Reads About the “Hilarious Friction” of Learning a Language
     
     
    a grid design with three manicures and three bottles of nail polish
    Nails My Next Manicure Is Taking Its Cues From Stockholm Street Style
    a collage of sunglasses manicures on five sets of hands with three bottles of nail polish on colorful printed fabric
    Nails NYFW Nail Trends Are Off to a Shady Start
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.