"I'm just kidding": An analysis of sexist comments and offensive humor at Balkan universities"

Abstract

Is sexist humor in academia a form of gender-based violence and discrimination, or is it just harmless fun? How is sexist humor related to gender stereotypes and does it foster an organizational culture of tolerance of sexism? The above questions form a summary of the part of the research on gender-based violence conducted at 18 universities in four Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro in the period 2021/22 among the teaching and administrative staff and student population. Based on this research, we analyze the perceptions of sexist comments and humor among women and men at universities, the functions of such humor, as well as ways of reacting to sexist humor, that is, to gender-based violence and discrimination expressed through it.