I’ve always had a theory that men use laughter and humour as a way of marking territory, or aggression towards other men, when in the company of women.
It’s quite easily noticeable that men in the company of other men try to tell more jokes than normal if there is a woman around. This isn’t out of goodwill, but just trying to prove themselves better than the others. Of course, not all humour has to be at the expense of others — with the real funny ones being neutral. Too many jokes trying to put other people down work the other way with women, who see through men’s pretences more than we give them credit for.
