Is Muslim Couple Comedy a Problem?

A lot of Muslim manosphere commentators rage against silly social media posts being made by Muslim couples on TikTok or wherever where they do skits that in one way or another show the husband being dominated by the wife. These are by and large Muslim couples in the West or who are targeting Western audiences. It's obvious that they are both deploying these comedic tropes that have long existed in Western humor about domineering wives and henpecked husbands, and also that because they are Muslims, they are self consciously appropriating these tropes for the strategic purpose of countering Western stereotypes about the oppression of women in Islam. They're trying to show their non Muslim audience that Muslim couples are just like them. See, these comedic tropes apply to us too.

Muslim men are not tyrannical patriarchs who lock their women in the basement. These comedic tropes exist, it should be recognized, precisely because they are counter to expectations. They're funny because they are absurd. The sight of a man being pushed around by a woman is comical. That's the point.

It's like the trope of an elephant being scared of a mouse. It's immediately visually comical. Now, as I said, it's obvious that these couples are employing these comedic tropes with the intention of rehabilitating the image of Muslims in the West in a way that has broader appeal. You may or may not think it's a good strategy. You may or may not think it's funny.

You may or may not think it's appropriate in Islam, but it's clear that that's what they're trying to do. They are not, of course, accurately representing the reality of Muslim marriages and families. They're not even accurately representing the reality of their own relationship. They're performing skits. Anyone who sees these skits whether they like them or hate them, if they take them seriously, they've lost their perspective.

If you approve of what they portray or you disapprove of what they portray, you're mistaken either way if you think they are representative reality. Social media is fake. If we all know that, then anyone responding to it as if it is not fake is being fake. The couples who make these videos are lying to be funny, but the brothers who get outraged about these videos are lying to be serious. If you wanna argue that they shouldn't make these kind of videos because they portray a negative concept of marriage and relationships just to get likes and laughs, okay.

If you wanna argue that they shouldn't make these kind of videos because they shouldn't even be trying to make non Muslims feel that Muslims are the same as them, okay. Whatever. But have an honest argument, not one that pretends that these dumb little skits are accurate representations of reality. We all know they're not, and you're being dishonest when you act like they are.