15 Types of Humor and How it Affects Relationships
There are different types of humor you might not be aware of and yes, they affect relationships! In fact, your humor can make or break your relationship.
A sense of humor is a great trait to have. But at times, it can do more damage than good, especially if you don’t know where to draw the line. You may think you’re a funny person who is the life of a party, but are you pushing your lover away or annoying them without realizing it?
So the type of humor you choose really is that important. Especially in a relationship, humor affects what you and your partner have. If you choose a rather bad type of humor, it could easily piss off your partner to the point of not wanting to be around you.
While it’s true that it’s ideal to have a part with a similar sense of humor, that doesn’t mean it won’t work if you both have a different sense of humor. It just means that the types of humor you should have ought to be good ones!
The types of humor
There are so many types of humor all around us, from sadistic to stand up to satire. And they’re all great. Humor draws people and it can also make your personality feel more attractive. And humor can be a great asset to keep a relationship exciting too.
Time together can be fun and happy, and even when other couples say they have nothing interesting to talk to each other after a few months into the relationship, you and your partner may still have a fun time in each other’s company after being together for years.
Humor is also a great way to have a friendship outside the relationship. You know what they say – if you want your love to last, be their best friend.
So even after years of being together and you’re left with not much to say, the right sense of humor can keep the relationship fun and exciting. You can still laugh with each other like you just started dating.
How does a sense of humor affect relationships?
You might be thinking that a sense of humor is minimal and doesn’t matter, but it does. If you have a terrible sense of humor, you will constantly piss off your partner, not unless they share the same humor you do. But by choosing the right kind of humor, you will both bring light and happiness to your relationship.
There will be so much laughter and light in your relationship by choosing the right types of humor. If you manage you make your partner genuinely laugh and not piss them off or offend them, you’re already on the right track. Otherwise, you could both be having arguments based on a terrible sense of humor.
The good types of humor
Good natured humor brings the couple closer together. There’s no fear of being judged, and there’s no need to be on guard when you’re around each other. And most importantly, this kind of humor can make the relationship more exciting and give you many more conversations to talk about.
Here are 9 types of good humor that’ll help you be the perfect happy couple.
1. Self-deprecating humor
Self deprecating humor is the type of humor where you put yourself down or accept a mistake gracefully with humor. It lightens the mood, and lets your partner know you’re not upset or annoyed at the same time.
Almost always, you tend to get angry with the person you’re around when you make a mistake because you don’t want to accept your own fault. But by using this kind of humor, you can acknowledge your fault and make the whole episode feel funny at the same time.
It keeps your relationship light and burden-free, which your partner would definitely appreciate. Not to mention, it really is a funny type of humor.
2. Bitchy humor
Have you ever whined about how annoying a TV show is, or how annoying a friend of yours is? Well, these bitchy jokes are nasty and mean, but as long as your partner feels the same way about the situation or person, they’ll join in the joke and both of you would end up having a fun conversation bitching about someone else.
This is extremely healthy, especially in a relationship! Imagine acting like besties with your partner *isn’t that just adorable*? Imagine bitching about that person you secretly find annoying and laughing your assess off. This is what we call quality humor.
3. Practical humor
When was the last time you played a prank on your partner? This one’s a laugh that’ll always be funny each time you talk about it. But it all depends on your lover’s moods. If your partner’s fun and forgives you quite easily, practical humor may be the best remedy to keep love exciting and young forever.
But if they get pissed off quickly or you prank them when they’re in a bad mood, this humor could do more harm than good! SO really, it’s all about how well you know your partner.
4. Childish humor
Childish humor is silly and even borderline stupid. But as long as both of you enjoy it, knock yourselves out. Call each other silly cute names, smack your lover on the butt and run away to the next room, sprinkle a few drops of water when your lover’s asleep… you know the works, don’t you?
It’s completely harmless to act like a child again, especially if you and your partner share this sense of humor. So have fun and enjoy it while you can! It’s silly and annoyingly funny, just as long as it doesn’t get wicked.
5. Situational humor
Situational humor is the kind of humor where you use the situation to create a funny circumstance out of it. It can help ease out awkward situations in public, and make your partner feel grateful to you too. The more both of you use situational humor to support each other, the closer both of you will get over time.
I mean, you can even use this to make awkward family reunions easier, and only you and your partner could understand the inside joke. Anything to make awkward situations easier, right?
6. Bathroom humor
Have you ever shared dirty jokes about wood or something feeling too wet? Double entendre, or double meaning jokes, is a perfect example of bathroom humor. If your partner’s saying something to you, and you respond with something sexual in a funny way, it may end with a slap on your arm, but it’ll make conversations a lot more fun.
If anything, this is one of the hilarious jokes that would definitely make your relationship more vibrant. So don’t underestimate this as one of the types of humor that would crack up you ad your partner!
7. Take it easy humor
When your partner’s feeling down, share your own awkward, funny story about how you screwed up in a similar situation. The take it easy type of humor is best used when you want to make awkward situations a little less awkward.
Use the circumstance to relate with your partner and say something to them that’ll make them feel better about themselves, and your partner will love you for always having a way to cheer them up. You might not think it classifies as humor but if they made you laugh or at least feel better, it definitely counts!
8. Improvisational humor
If you’re a spontaneous person and this happens to be your humor, this will make both you and your partner crack up! From the term itself, it’s comedy without a specific script or plan. If you have the wit it takes to come up with the funniest jokes on the spot, why not?
9. Physical humor
This is one of the most common types of humor that can crack you both up in a relationship. Physical humor involves physical expressions, clowns, mimes, and even falling over something.
So if your partner is having a bad day or you just want to make them laugh out of nowhere, this is excellent humor to use to your advantage. Especially if you tend to have the funniest expressions, go for it!
The bad types of humor
While the good types of humor can bring couples closer, the bad types will distance you and your lover, leaving both of you feeling guarded and insecure and most of all, annoyed. And these types of humor, you definitely need to avoid in a relationship.
1. Sarcasm
Sarcasm comes really easily when you’re annoyed with your partner. For most of us, sarcasm is a shield we use to defend ourselves or try to hurt someone while trying to appear calm. But sarcasm, as funny as it may seem, is not a good kind of humor to use, especially in love.
It’ll only end up leaving your partner bitter and angry because they can’t even argue back with you. Unless you want to really piss off your partner to the point where they end up not talking to you for days, leave the sarcasm off the table.
It can be extremely passive-aggressive to use this sense of humor, so it’s not exactly wise to use it in relationships.
2. Insulting humor
Have you ever used a joke to poke fun of your partner or anger them, perhaps by speaking badly about their family or about some particular incident? Never use veiled humor to insult the one you love. It’s true, you’re only joking, but you’re still leaving a deep impact.
Don’t insult your partner and pass it off as humor. This isn’t funny nor respectful to your partner in any way! In fact, this is one of the types of humor that might encourage you to lose them, so stop while you can.
3. Cocky humor
Are you too full of yourself? Well, then you’re probably familiar with the cocky type of humor. Do you answer your partner’s questions with a line that compliments yourself all the time? Your lover says, “How do I look?” You say, “You’re with me, of course you look good!”
This screams arrogance and narcissism so if you’re serious about making your partner happy, don’t use this sense of humor in your relationship. It’s not just a red flag for your partner, but it will push them away from you.
If your partner knows you well, cocky humor may be worth a snort and a snigger. But if you use cocky humor in excess, you’d only make your partner roll their eye balls in annoyance.
4. Flawed humor
If you don’t like something about your partner’s behavior, tell them about it. Don’t use humor to reveal a flaw. When you try to reveal your partner’s flaws by using humor, it usually hits them harder because it seems like criticism and yet they can’t argue back with you because you’re only joking.
This is similar to insulting humor, where you can’t pass off insults as love. Flawed humor isn’t great in a relationship, and it won’t make your partner happy. If you have a problem with them, talk to them. There’s no need to pass it off as a joke.
5. Picky humor
Have you ever teamed up with your friends to pick on your partner just for the fun of it? When you gang up and tease your partner, it may feel like fun to you, but it makes your partner feel weak, lonely and miserable. It’s high school bullying all over again.
It might feel fun, especially when you’re ganging up with your friends, but your partner might feel insecure and frustrated by this. There’s no need to pick on your partner, even if it is for humor!
If your partner buys a new shirt you don’t like, and another friend of your partner says the same thing, don’t constantly pull your partner’s leg in front of friends reminding everyone about how awful that shirt was.
6. Dark humor
Unless you and your partner share this humor, it’s always best to watch yourself. You could end up offending or upsetting them intentionally because of this. The central theme of dark humor is depressing and dark themes that pass off as humor.
So if your partner doesn’t share this humor, they might just be appalled that you’re making jokes out of such a terrible event or thing.
So, how do the types of humor affect relationships?
There are many types of humor, but they can be summarized into 15 significant types for relationships. If you want to have a happy relationship where both of you have a happy laugh all the time, then focus on the 9 good types of humor.
And if you want to avoid any resentment or anger in love, learn to stay away from the 6 bad types of humor. You may not realize this, but more often than not, you may find yourself using the bad types of humor more often than any other kind.
Humor is always a good thing in love and romance, but there’s a thin line between the good types of humor and the bad ones. Ensure you know which ones to use and which to avoid in your relationship to avoid pissing your partner off.