"Feminine" Laughter: Part 1

A thought just occurred to me as I was sitting in the library:  why did I choose to write about women and laughter, not men and laughter?  Yes, it may have something to do with the fact I am a woman, and will admit to being a very strong-headed, stubborn one at that.  But as I was looking over my blog posts, the one about the three girls in the cafeteria struck me as peculiar.  Not because it is unique, but because I have witnessed that exact episode replicated time and time again with three or more girls in multiple places across campus.  When there are several girls in close proximity, you can guarantee that laughter will be heard within three minutes of their conversation starting.  Even if they have never met before, the girls will undoubtedly giggle and laugh as the conversation progresses.

            For some reason, I have serious doubt if this would hold true for men.  If I put three men together right now, I will bet you a good ten or twenty minutes will pass before one of them releases as much as a chuckle, let alone a full blown laughter attack.  To them, laughter would seem a sign of weakness or incompetence.  They would not want to come off as being the lesser guy in the group, especially if they have never met before.  But for women, laughter is a bridge that can cross any boundary, including previous knowledge of the other.  I have shown how laughter works as a bonding mechanism.  This is even truer when women are the context of the situation.  A woman who is surrounded by other women and who does not laugh at all would appear stoic and unfriendly.  This is because there is something decidedly feminine about laughter.  Laughter is a necessary part of our interactions with one another.  I am pretty sure I have never had a conversation with one of my close friends in which there was not at least some chuckle or giggle expressed.  Even in a serious or sad conversation, we will cope with it through laughter.  Men, on the other hand, can go an entire day without laughing and probably not notice.  I will not say men do not need laughter in their lives. We all do.  But women employ laughter much more frequently and rely on it much more heavily than their opposing gender does.