Acceptance in Comedy

Ellen Cleghorn had a funny bit in her comedy routine about her dating a black man who is very dark, much darker than her. Cleghorn's grandmother told her that she had worked real hard to get Cleghorn as light-skinned as she is, and now Cleghorn was going to screw it all up by being with a dark-skinned black man. It was a funny bit as it talked about a common theme in comedy these days, race relations. Of course Cleghorn doesn't sound like a jerk or racist in her comedy because as a black woman she is able to make that joke about darker-skinned vs. lighter-skinned black people. The boundaries placed on what is acceptable for someone to say in their routine is largely based on the comedien's sex, race, age, background. I laughed hard at Cleghorn's joke, but had a white man or woman said the same joke, I would've found my self cringing.
Christine Rhea is able to diss her audience without coming off as disrespectful. She begins her routine by saying something to a male audience member, but she shows off those pearly whites with a big smile after doing so. See, she isn't so mean! She's able to tell off the audience member, but not come off as disrespectful. At the same time, a comedien's personality will let the audience know if they should expect to be disrespected. No one is going to a Don Rickles performance expecting to get a warm compliment. The persona Rickles has created allows him to get away with some rather nasty comments.