#you can find that bugs bunny essay on scihub iirc

[marley-manson]

so i figure there are like five main types of pre-90s gay jokes based on reading stuff about homoeroticism in film/tv and also watching things in general:

1 - it's funny because it's absurd. dude making the joke is very masculine, there's no doubt as to his virility and manliness and heterosexuality, the punchline comes from the juxtaposition of effeminacy with masculinity, the laughter is safe because we know it's not true. you see this a lot in masculine genres like war movies.

2 - self deprecation. it's funny because it's a joke at the teller's own expense, he's not particularly masculine and he's highlighting this through sexuality jokes, to make fun of himself. in some way he's failed to live up to the standard of masculinity, and this is equated with homosexuality. everyone has a good laugh because they know it's just a joke, and often they can relate because most men fail to live up to at least some masculine standards. Jack Benny's an example I've seen cited a lot, though idk first hand.

3 - homoerotic male duos. it's funny because it's an exaggeration of a presumed platonic friendship, or maybe power dynamic. the first and second types may also factor in, but don't necessarily have to. this isn't all homoeroticism between friends, this is just referring to the jokes that lampshade it. couples jokes, one in drag playing a wife, etc. jerry lewis and dean martin are probably a good example, and starsky and hutch fit here.

4 - full on straightforward mockery. insults, brief appearances by people playing effete stereotypes for the sole purpose of making the audience laugh, etc. deprecation of others. the most common, probably

5 - the bugs bunny factor. it's not self deprecating, and it's not a juxtaposition to some 'real' masculinity underneath - it's a point of pride and triumph. this is where seducing your enemy to own him comes in. it's funny because it's subversive. it's not self-mockery, it's a mockery of social norms and authority through embodying their opposite. it's probably rooted in anarchic comedy? maybe burlesque before that, but i think most of these can probably be traced to burlesque, idk i need to read more on that. anyway this is the best kind and it's mainly where hawkeye fits.

i guess there's a bonus 6 too - sly allusions and double entendres only people in the know were expected to get. idk if that quite counts as a main(stream) type of joke, but it's probably worth mentioning.