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Clowns and jesters have been a seemingly harmless fixture in global history for centuries. But they represent more than just making people laugh. In fact, the first jesters in many cultures were disabled “fools, dwarfs, and hunchbacks.”
In the 1700s, the modern circus clowns began performing in blackface.
In the early 1800s, minstrel scenes became part of American circus shows. And 1874 birthed the “tramp” clown, frequently depicting poor African Americans unhoused by the Civil War.
White people didn’t just don blackface masks to create a caricature of Blackness but to affirm a superiority they believed they were entitled to. For example, working-class Irish actors did so to prove their whiteness amidst their own oppression.
When the marginalized “Other” is the butt of the joke, there is an “us” laughing at a “them.” Those buying into false superiority or anxious about their own social position believe making fun of an Other will position them higher in the hierarchy.
And this is about more than just vintage clowns.
From misogynist media and fatphobic memes, to transphobic comedy performances and anti-Black social media trends, this applies today.
But true joy can and should exist without an Other. In a liberated future, laughter won’t come at someone else’s expense. And even if we aren’t living in this future yet, we can start practicing it now.