2010-11-07
Explanation
This single-panel comic plays on a crude domestic stereotype for comedic effect. A woman complains to a man, saying she feels like she has to label everything in the house "Not for your penis!" -- with particular exasperation over her vacuum. The man responds by saying he feels she has a "fundamental misunderstanding of male psychology." Below the panel, a quote attributed to Abraham Maslow reads: "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
The joke operates on multiple levels. On the surface, it is an absurdist exaggeration of the stereotype that men will try to use household objects for sexual purposes. The man's response -- claiming she misunderstands male psychology -- is funny because rather than denying the behavior, he seems to be objecting to her framing of it, implying the reality might be even more absurd than she thinks.
The Maslow quote at the bottom elevates the joke by recontextualizing the entire exchange through the lens of psychology. Maslow's "law of the instrument" -- the idea that people with limited tools try to apply them universally -- becomes a double entendre here. Weinersmith is wryly suggesting that the man's behavior can be explained by this principle, applied in the most literal and lowbrow way possible. The votey panel continues the self-aware tone, with the woman commenting "Back to back dick jokes, eh?" and the man responding "You're welcome?" -- a meta-acknowledgment by the cartoonist of the comic's humor register.