If you've ever seen Notting Hill, you witnessed Hugh Grant woo Julia Roberts with that quirky, self-deprecating sense of humor. As it turns out, a recent article in The Daily Mail says that same sense of humor can actually work in real life! Anthropologist Gil Greengross conducted a two-year study on the role sense of humor plays in seduction. Of course having a good sense of humor is attractive, but according to his findings, it's actually self-deprecating humor that is the most attractive.
He explains:
It is a risky form of humour because it can draw attention to one's real faults, thereby diminishing the self-deprecator's status in the eyes of others. But based on the idea that verbal humour evolved to function as a fitness indicator, self-deprecating humour can be an especially reliable indicator, not only of general intelligence and verbal creativity, but also moral virtues such as humility.
I think occasional self-deprecating humor can be funny, but overall, I'm not a fan. What do you think? Are you generally attracted to men who use that kind of humor?
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I think that it shows that the man knows he has flaws and is confident enough about them that he can make a joke. I like a guy who doesn't take himself too seriously.
But like with everything, if it's non-stop, it would get quite old.
1I tell jokes about myself like this... women always find me funny.
2Humor is a big thing for me, making me laugh is right up there when im looking for someone BUT this kind of humor can be just ok, to an extent...if it happens all the time it can be a sign of insecurity as well..I guess im cool with it, as long as its not every second of the day
3The only sense of humor I don't like is the outright offensive and ignorant kind.
Anyway, I did always like Chandler the best on Friends.
4it could be endearing a little.
im like fallen, i joke this way, but only in front of a female crowd..they seem to find me funny too. im not so funny to men though :S
5I think self-deprecating humor is ok but I also think it would make me uncomfortable if someone were constantly putting themselves down for a laugh.
6Only to a certain extent. It's one thing to be able to laugh at one's self, but it's another thing to constantly put one's self down. The latter is a turn-off.
7I'm pretty much into any humor unless it is inappropriate or gets to be too much.
8as long as it's humor. my ex was just self-deprecating & there's nothing funny or endearing about that.
9i think a lot of people start off using this kind of humor so they don't look full of themselves and so the other person can say "oh you're not ugly. you're really cute!" or whatever to stroke the ego. i think it can lighten the situation, but it can go on too long or it can turn into a serious self esteem issue, that can be really annoying.
10As long as it's actually funny and you don't come off like you don't have any self-esteem I think it's OK. It probably stops being funny when somebody uses it all the time, though.
11My bf does this and i think it is endearing!
12to an extent, doing it TOO much just shows how insecure you are
13Definitely in smaller amounts!
14I do this all the time!!! I think it's great when you can laugh at yourself. I'm attracted to it when guys do it too, must just be the fact that you're recognizing that you're only human, and it's okay to have flaws, and you're not afraid to laugh at yourself..if you are, you're taking life way too seriously.
15I love Kathy Griffin and I love my boyfriend. They're both like that at times.
16not for a man. it reminds me of protagonists in those gen-x loser guy movies, like slacker or something. or that guy on SATC carrie was dating, that self-conscious one.
17Uh hi, Conan O'Brien anyone? The self-deprecating humor works with him so well because he is so fabulous. If he were really as bad as he joked, it would just be sad. It's possible to tell the difference between the two.
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