Table 6. Gender differences in what subjects students report they might find offensive if an instructor of a college science course were to tell a joke about them.
| Potentially humorous subject | % of females who might find jokes about subject offensive if told by a science instructor (n = 1004) |
% of males who might find jokes about subject offensive if told by a science instructor (n = 606) |
Gender of students significantly more likely to find subject offensive | p-valuea | Standardized effect size- odds ratio that females will perceive the subject offensive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 1.2% | 1.8% | - | 0.31 | |
| College | 1.6% | 1.5% | - | 0.87 | |
| Television | 1.1% | 1.8% | - | 0.23 | |
| Food puns | 1.0% | 2.3% | - | 0.04 | |
| Relationships | 10.8% | 5.8% | Females | <0.001 | 2.0x more likely |
| Cute animals | 4.0% | 3.1% | - | 0.38 | |
| Dogs | 5.2% | 3.5% | - | 0.11 | |
| Cats | 4.0% | 2.6% | - | 0.16 | |
| Sports | 5.0% | 2.5% | - | 0.02 | |
| Students | 20.0% | 10.6% | Females | <0.001 | 2.1x more likely |
| Politics | 20.9% | 8.7% | Females | <0.001 | 2.8x more likely |
| Donald Trump | 21.3% | 10.9% | Females | <0.001 | 2.2x more likely |
| Sex | 24.4% | 10.2% | Females | <0.001 | 2.8x more likely |
| Farts or poop | 13.1% | 8.9% | - | 0.01 | |
| Hillary Clinton | 30.8% | 10.4% | Females | <0.001 | 3.5x more likely |
| Old people | 36.9% | 18.0% | Females | <0.001 | 2.7x more likely |
| Genitalia | 43.5% | 18.2% | Females | <0.001 | 3.5x more likely |
| Republicans | 44.1% | 21.1% | Females | <0.001 | 2.9x more likely |
| Divorce | 34.2% | 18.8% | Females | <0.001 | 2.2x more likely |
| Sean Spicer | 17.1% | 8.9% | Females | <0.001 | 2.1x more likely |
| Democrats | 50.7% | 22.3% | Females | <0.001 | 3.6x more likely |
| Women | 76.8% | 37.3% | Females | <0.001 | 5.5x more likely |
| Weight | 61.8% | 26.4% | Females | <0.001 | 4.5x more likely |
| Mormons | 55.5% | 29.2% | Females | <0.001 | 3.0x more likely |
| Christians | 61.3% | 36.0% | Females | <0.001 | 2.8x more likely |
| Catholics | 61.3% | 31.4% | Females | <0.001 | 3.5x more likely |
| Mexicans | 71.6% | 43.4% | Females | <0.001 | 3.3x more likely |
| Immigration/Immigrants | 61.6% | 30.0% | Females | <0.001 | 3.7x more likely |
| Jewish people | 68.1% | 39.6% | Females | <0.001 | 3.3x more likely |
| African Americans | 73.2% | 41.6% | Females | <0.001 | 3.8x more likely |
| Gay or lesbian people | 71.5% | 38.4% | Females | <0.001 | 4.0x more likely |
| Muslims | 73.7% | 44.7% | Females | <0.001 | 3.5x more likely |
| Transgender people | 73.2% | 38.4% | Females | <0.001 | 4.4x more likely |
| People with disabilities | 77.6% | 41.4% | Females | <0.001 | 4.9x more likely |
The odds ratio that females compared to males might perceive the subject offensive are reported for subjects where the gender difference is significant.
aA Bonferroni-adjusted alpha level of <0.001 was used.