Not Being Funny

As my long-time readers are no doubt aware, I'm an incredibly hilarious and humble man, and even more-so in person. It's not something that I think about often, but a recent comment by Ellis to an earlier post of mine about why women aren't funny makes me think that I should stop taking my own sense of humor for granted. He wrote:

Well, I have to say, from reading the above comments, that I must be a woman. Perhaps I'm in the silent minority here, but I've never had a niche for being clever. Yes, I've tried and usually fail miserably. That, in and of itself, doesn't bother me - what does, is how much -emphasis- is placed on a man being funny in Western society.

Throughout my life, at the young age of 35, I've found time and time again that you can be successful, wealthy, poor, nice, polite, ok looking - none of it matters if you can't crack a joke.

I guess, to me, if I wanted to be a comedian, I would've been one. Personally, I meet too many people who think they're funny but don't realise that they're not. Especially when the humour relies on belittling other people.

I've met a lot of people who think they're funny but aren't, and I've met a lot of people who desperately dislike their physical appearance and believe it's held them back, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who knows they aren't funny and thinks their lack of humor has had a detrimental effect on their life. Is this a common shortcoming that people -- or men in particular -- struggle with?