Do you consider yourself funny?

Chances are, if you answered “yes” to that question, you are a boy. If you hesitated, or just said “no” right away, chances are you are a girl.

This isn’t because girls don’t have a sense of humor or silly side to them. This is because of a prevalent concept in our society: women aren’t supposed to be funny.

In the spring of 2013, a YouTube video entitled “Why Women Can’t Be Funny” was uploaded by user Trisha Paytas, under her username blndsundoll4mj. The video has received nearly 110,000 hits and counting, along with an overwhelming number of comments disagreeing with Paytas. However, the statistics tell a different story.

Nearly all VHS students who took part in a recent survey answered the question “Who is the funniest person you know?” with the name of a man. Some said comedians, some said family members, some said actors, and some said friends: but almost all students said a man.

Furthermore, when VHS girls were asked what they look for in a boyfriend, the first thing that almost every girl said was a sense of humor.

“If they’re funny you have a better time,” said junior Jillian Gesumaria. Various studies have been conducted on why men are generally considered funnier than women. A clear answer has never been reached, but it is speculated that humor is involved in human mating, because men use it to win over women. A psychological theory exists which states that when a woman laughs at a man’s joke, the reward center of her brain is stimulated (the same part of the brain that is activated when someone gets an A on a test or eats a good piece of chocolate), making her want to have the same experience again.

Humor does not play such a vital role when it comes to high school boys. “I don’t need (girls) to be funny,” stated junior Kyle Kazanfer when asked what he looks for in a girlfriend.

Girls often doubt themselves when it comes to their sense of humor. When junior Heather Smith was asked if she thought she was funny, she said, “Yes, but only around my family.” Similarly, all VHS girls surveyed said some sort of disclaimer, if they even admitted that they were funny at all. For guys, it is a very different story.

“People say I’m funny a lot, so I’ll say yeah, I am,” answered Matt Thompson when he was asked about whether or not he had a funny side to him. Other guys had a very similar response; they all said yes, most without hesitation.

Women that are widely accepted as funny, such as actress Jennifer Lawrence or comedian Sarah Silverman, are often known to have a “boyish” personality, and are considered vulgar and not “ladylike.” Female comedians were not particularly popular until recent decades, when third-wave feminism became prevalent.

Like many other societal myths, the “women aren’t funny” concept will continue to fade until women can answer that question “Are you funny?” without hesitating.