In today's society, stand-up comedians act as a kind of ethnographer, one who systematically studies a wide range of people and cultures. Comedians don't just study and observe those around them, they very often combine these observations with their own experiences to create a unique narrative that serves as social commentary that the masses can engage and relate to. Comedians are increasingly becoming critical thought leaders on serious topics and relevant issues in order to bring awareness and laughs in the process. These topics, considered by many unsuitable for comedic purposes, can include anything from racism, national tragedies, disabilities and, more recently, sexual violence and the #metoo movement. In this essay I will analyze comedian Daniel Sloss and his recent HBO comedy special, X, which challenges dominant ideologies around rape and the role men play in the #metoo movement. Along with this analysis, we'll take a look at Cameron Esposito's comedy special, Rape Jokes, and discuss the meaning of the experience and where the power should be placed when discussing a seemingly taboo topic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Daniel Sloss, a Scottish comedian known for his dark humor, vulgar jokes and jarring lyrics, spends the first seventy-five minutes of his 2019 special entertaining audiences with a variety of quips, swear words and stories from his past to attract him. The last fifteen minutes, however, offer something else: a sort of Ted Talk (his words) focused on toxic masculinity, the rape joke and the challenge to the dominant ideology that rape and sexual violence are a "women's issue ". Ted Talk, inspired by her #MeToo movement, unfolds in a story of sexual violence against one of her closest friends and the subsequent fallout with another, her attacker. Uniquely, in Sloss' routine from this point on, the rape jokes mentioned come not from him, but from the female survivor. As the story goes, Sloss' friend went out one night with him and two of his friends. The next morning, over breakfast, he confided in Sloss about the attack and his attacker, one of his friends from that night who he had known for eight years. The first joke about rape occurs during a dialogue between Sloss and his friend: "Did you say no?" Sloss asks, “Yeah, more times than the 2 Unlimited song,” his friend replies. Common is the idea that rape jokes are not funny and cannot be funny, a dominant popular ideology in the world of comedy that audiences believe. However, in this case, a rape joke is actually deemed both funny and appropriate because both the woman telling the joke and the person she was telling it to could recognize and understand the joke's intention: to refuse to let a traumatic event of this magnitude has a "devouring power" on both the survivor and Sloss, a secondary witness to the situation. This was then followed by another joke after Sloss asked her permission to tell her story on stage: 'But when has my permission ever been needed for anything?'. What happens during these crucial parts of both his story and his comedy set are prominent signs such as Sloss's visible grimacing and body scrunching movements that help indicate his discomfort with the subject, followed by a mixture of laughter and silence from the public - another crucial sign. this helps express the discomfort and confusion of the audience, who is not sure how they should react. Incorporating theserape jokes in his act, Sloss serves to correct a power imbalance, not reinforce it, and instead chooses to focus on the survivor discourse as the primary discourse when discussing rape. Historically, the rape joke has backfired and has been used as a quick way to make people uncomfortable while focusing on the perpetrator, rather than the survivor. This helps explain why so many support the dominant ideology that rape jokes aren't funny – but is it the content of the joke or the way it's told? The rape joke has long been used by male comedians simply looking for a reaction, with no lessons learned. The idea that these experiences are based on female gender helps create a masculine ideology which in turn justifies the involvement of men as allies. Instead of following the misplaced humor of other men, Sloss challenges this dominant ideology with a message to men. Presented more as an emotional plea for help, it asks members of its male audience to identify instances of misogyny in those around them and do something about it. This counters the dominant ideology that rape is a “women's issue” and that men can do no wrong by placing the blame on men too. An excerpt found in Barker and Jane (p. 357) discusses Carol Gilligan's study of moral reasoning in which she argues: "Western cultural norms have validated male understandings of morality and ethics at the expense of female understandings, which have been considered deficient". '. This not only helps explain male ideology, but also affirms the outdated way of viewing women's issues that "boys will be boys." And while Barker and Jane define ideology as “lived experience,” that doesn't excuse men from the table or from the conversation just because they haven't lived it. And that's exactly what Sloss is trying to teach in his special. He almost challenges opponents of the #MeToo movement by saying, "And if you think this doesn't apply to you, ask the women in your life if they've ever experienced any form of sexual assault or harassment and watch your world crumble before you." . For women, it literally happens all the time.' While Sloss does not have the lived experience of being a victim of sexual assault, he does have the lived experience of being a man involved in a situation involving sexual assault, and that is enough for him to take action. He encourages the men in the audience by saying, "Instead of having this fucking hero complex and saying, 'I'm going to beat up a rapist,' stop one, because I know it can be done, because I know how I fucking failed." The emotion he conveys on stage is another signifier, full of his personal pain and trauma from the experience that makes his stance and his plea to the other men in the room so effective, emotional and raw. I wanted to compare and contrast Daniel. The performance of Sloss, a man who speaks on behalf of his dear friend's experience, with that of Cameron Esposito's special, Rape Jokes, which highlights his personal experience of sexual violence. Rape Jokes centers on a night where she played a drinking game with a man who then sexually assaulted her when she was drunk. And like anything about a typically serious, trauma-filled subject, it walks a dangerously thin line between pained comedy and deep, emotion-filled drama. Esposito helps narrate these high and low points throughout his act with the help of his unique vocal inflections, this helps serve as a sign, not only in relation to cultural studies but also for his audience to help signify when he narrates a joke.