“I don’t mean it.” Yes you do.
“She doesn’t care.” Yes she does.
“They think it’s funny.” No we don’t.
Husbands: a little piece of advice—stop making fun of your wives.
Even if she can’t cook, drive or add, don’t air her faults in public. While playfulness is a sign of a healthy marriage, being playful is different than being hateful. Making fun of your wife is often hateful.
Most husbands don’t mean it that way. A majority of comments meant in jest are just poorly thought through comments hoping for a cheap laugh. The intent is rarely evil, but we still need to stop it. The reward is not worth the risk.
We shouldn’t make fun of our wives because:
She could get the wrong impression. We might not mean a thing by it, but she might take it personally. Even if she says it doesn’t hurt her feelings, are you sure? Can you guarantee it never will?
Others could get the wrong impression. Even if our wife thinks the joke is funny, others could believe there is a lack of respect between you and your wife. Respect is a necessary ingredient for a successful marriage. It is also a necessary element to influence the lives of others. If others believe you do not respect your wife, they will lose respect for you.
We could start believing our jokes. They say behind every joke is a sliver of truth. By calling attention to the faults and failures of another, we can begin to fixate on those faults and failures. In dealing with couples in crisis, I have noticed a correlation between marital problems and a willingness to mock another for their mistakes. (See: 5 Keys to Saving Your Marriage)
When I hear a man make fun of his wife in public, I often wonder, “If he will say that about her in public, what will he say to her in private?”
It’s okay to laugh about a situation. It can be fun to remember a funny story. But it is never right to get a cheap laugh at the expense of our wives. Either be funnier or live without the laugh.
While this is true in every setting, it is especially true for those of us who spend a good amount of our time on stage. As communicators, we are always looking for a moment of levity. Taking a simple shot at our wives seems innocent and playful, but it’s neither. I spend a lot of my time on stage talking about my wife and laughing, yet the key to those stories is to only tell the ones in which the audience will join my wife in laughing at me. For example: On Faking Communion or On George Straight, a First Kiss, and Seminary Women or A Small Fire, a Can of Gasoline, and a Test of My Manhood.
And if I find a story funny (such as How Thanksgiving Killed My Dog) but I’m uncertain how she feels, I ask her. She proofreads the story and deletes what she doesn’t like. If we find a middle ground, I tell the story. If we don’t; I don’t. As for off-the-cuff jokes which she doesn’t know about before hand, they just aren’t worth the risk.
Everyone loves to laugh. Everyone loves to be funny. All humor is risky but that doesn’t mean we should stop. However, some humor is too risky because the risk involves something which is very important. If I make a joke which offends a stranger, I am sorry but life will go on. If I make a joke which deeply wounds the soul of my wife, it’s a mistake made with dire consequences.
So be funny, but leave the wife out of it. Besides, who needs to joke about a wife when we can joke about lawyers, politicians, and Texans?
Question: Do you think the same applies about wives making fun of their husbands?
17 Responses to Stop Making Fun of Your Wife
stevebrawner January 14, 2014
All true. And yes, the same applies for wives making fun of their husbands. My wife and I have had this discussion several times during the past year or so. Too often, the little digs we make in public and private aren’t just meant to get a laugh; they’re meant to make a subtle point. We’ve tried to stop.
Kevin A. Thompson January 14, 2014
Steve,
My wife and I had a debate of if it applies equally to men. She thinks it always does; I think it mostly does but I think she has more freedom. She thinks I’m wrong. When in doubt, believe Jenny more than me.
kt
Ruby January 14, 2014
It definitely goes both ways! I have been guilty of poking fun at my husband and in return he thought I was calling him stupid. He’s made jokes about me as well and I have told him people are going to think he seriously hates me. Why not just lift each other up?
Larry Solik January 17, 2014
We had this very conversation this week, remembering how right from that get go we would use our words to build each other up. After 40 years we have seen that it is not only a precious gift we give each other, but also a blessing to other people in our lives. Married to the best!
Kevin A. Thompson January 17, 2014
Good word Larry. Thanks for reading.
Sankar Maharajan July 17, 2014
I think it is an easy and quick vent. It becomes light and forgotten once you share it with others as humour. Honestly I see making fun of each other is a healthy way to nurture relationship as long as both the parties involved have the maturity to see a joke as joke, appreciate the creativity and not take personally. Simple test to find maturity levels is if somebody fights “how can you do that in front of others” means it will not work with this couple. It will work in relationships where there is no “others” involved. Healthy couples I am talking about see only 2 characters in any situations.
Amy August 4, 2014
It hurts. It teaches all children the wrong way to be toward Mom and their future wives. It’s a deal breaker if it doesn’t stop.
Carly March 4, 2015
I do think it goes the other way and I dont like to or try not to do it. My spouse has a bad habit of joshing with people I am not a conversation with- he likes to throw humor into his banter with them. Sometimes I know who they are but sometimes I dont, Sometimes I am there, sometimes he is only on the phone. – I dont want to be in the conversation unless its something I asked him to talk about or they ask how I am doing, if I am there they ask me about etc. . He says stuff which often is not true of me in a joking way like he just got set up for starting teaching. He said to my boss ” My wife cannot wait to get me out of the house.” Joking yes but I never said that and it did not make me feel good knowing he said that to my boss. I am am not eager for him to be gone. ( He and I work from home for a college) I dont like being thrown in a conversation for humors sake and he does it too much, its does not make em feel good and what you said could be the results in the article- yes are true here and I dont want people thinking that of me or us..
Bri August 17, 2015
How do you get someone who jokes about you to stop?
Ima April 8, 2016
Bri, you can’t make them stop. If you have asked them politely to stop and they don’t, all you can do is change yourself. Start letting it roll off your back, laugh along with them (laughing with them or letting it roll off your back takes away the impetus for teasing), or never have contact them again if you can’t laugh along. Sorry you are going through this. If it is your spouse, tell them how to feel or be prepared to leave. No one should take delight in making you feel small.
SoManyTears December 11, 2015
I accidentally caught my husband, of 11 years, having an affair. It had been going on 15 months. She was an old girlfriend. We had never had any problems in our marriage before. He agrees. He made fun of me to this woman. He said he had to make me look bad so that she would have sex with him. He made fun of my music style, the way I blow my nose after I shower and who knows what else. Why did he do that? It really bothers me! This woman knew me very well. I feel very betrayed. She died recently. He says he’s very ashamed for what he did. I just don’t understand how he could speak about me like he did. I think he’s a very bad person.
MovingOn December 17, 2015
I am leaving my husband of over 30 years. Making fun of me in front of our adult children is only one of the many reasons (never apologizing, complaining that I’m too sensitive and/or needy, ignoring me are among the others). If you think it doesn’t damage a relationship, you’re wrong. I spent my adult life concerned about my family’s feelings and making sure that my kids and husband left the house emotionally prepared to take on the day… and then one day I woke up and realized I didn’t take the same care of myself. When I started standing up for myself, it was evident that it never really occurred to my husband that part of his job description was to be my biggest cheerleader, not my biggest heckler. He’ll have a lot of time to himself to ponder that now.
Joyce February 5, 2016
Thank you, Kevin! This is sound advice for husbands, and hopefully some will receive it. And us wives must tell our husbands that jokes at our expense are not acceptable. If they still continue this behavior, a serious evaluation of the marriage would be in order.
CP April 28, 2016
Wish my husband understood this. We’ve been married 32 years and I’ve had two children with him. Recently he made fun of my private area making reference that it was large. I told him that’s what happens when you have children and later told him that was unkind and disrespectful, to which he responded, laughingly, that he was just joking. How do I respect a husband who is disrespectful to me and how can I make him understand it is disrespectful?
Kevin A. Thompson April 28, 2016
Those are very fair questions. My first thought: make sure he understands you aren’t joking. Maybe say, “I know you would never intentionally hurt my feelings, but that did hurt. Please do not do it again.”