Hard time reading sarcasm or body language

Post Reply New Topic

One of my favorite TV shows is The Big Bang Theory and and one of my favorite characters is of course Sheldon. Pretty much Every time someone is being sarcastic and Sheldon responds as if the question or statement was meant literally(doesn't understand sarcasm), I can totally relate. It's funny how he responds literally every time. Does anyone else have a problem with this? and I would also say that I have a bit of an issue regarding facial expression/body language that indicates when someone is uncomfortable speaking about a certain topic, just like Sheldon in a BBT episode where he asked Penny something that made here uncomfortable and she had to yell "I'M UNCOMFORTABLE SHELDON!" for him to get that. It's kind of embarrassing sometimes that I have this issue. I know Sheldon Cooper is a fictional character, but thankfully there are other real people who have these issues so I'm not alone. Just today I was watching a BBT clip on YouTube about Sheldon and sarcasm and someone commented that they don't understand it either. Then later I watched a similar BBT video and someone made a sarcastic comment and someone replied to it like he didn't get the sarcasm and he the other person replied back "It's sarcasm. Learn it. ("oh yeah, that's what I forgot to do. Learn sarcasm...... whoops) Don't you wish people wouldn't do that?

Last edited by hey_there on 04 Feb 2013, 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

yeah i have problems reading sarcasm sometimes as well.

i can detect sarcasm but it has to be fairly strong and not subtle as in body language.

My wife has a very sarcastic humor, so after all the years being around her I have become more adept to her sarcasm. It took a while but I think that I did learn it in a sense, but I think you might have to be around that person for a while to know when they are using sarcasm or not. Sometimes she still is amazed though when I miss her sarcasm, saying things like "um...I am being sarcastic, don't take it so literal."

Most people lave learned not to be sarcastic with me becouse they will end up having to explain it therefor removing all the humor. My Dad is always doing it though and gets a laugh when I give him a puzzled look and say "really" in my usual monotone voice, to him its a fun game to see how long it takes me to catch on.

me: sorry, hope I did not overstep the line
her: I was just teasing you
me:

To be honest I would be quite annoyed if I had someone like your spouse who knew my issue with understanding sarcasm and has known it for years and keeps telling me to not take it so literal. I would be like umm.... that's exactly my problem, that I take it literally.

My ex boyfriend was very sarcastic so he was always joking. It would always upset me because I felt he didn't take me seriously and he took everything as a joke. He knew I was literal but he didn't seem to care because he kept on doing it. He expected me to just start picking up on it and I stop taking people seriously when they joke all the time. I will not do that in a relationship but he would get upset when I would take one of his jokes seriously.

I do not care for sarcasm.
why do people not just say things the way they really are?
instead of making something sound different than it is.

because that is their passive/aggressive way of punching one in the nose without punching one in the nose.

Even though I am almost totally blind to body language. I seldomly have problems picking up on sarcasm. My psychiatrist did tell me that sarcasm can be a big problem for aspies. But I don't seem to have an issue with it.

Yeah, I'm blind to body language too. If I bring up something that makes the other person uncomfortable in a conversation, I have to actually be told that it's making them uncomfortable.

I understand sarcasm most of the time, but I do miss it on occasion. I have a tendency to answer rhetorical questions, unless it's really obvious that it's sarcastic.

I'm OK with facial expressions for the most part, but with body language, I don't think I'm quite as skilled. Like, when people say, "he looks tired/anxious/stressed/happy/relaxed," I have no idea what people are looking at/for, unless it's something obvious (like if they're jumping up and down excitedly).

"My ex boyfriend"
No offense, but good move, in my opinion. I'm not looking for any relationship but if I did I'd want a boyfriend who understands my inability to process sarcasm and doesn't keep using it excessively (out of spite perhaps) and then get upset when I don't understand it!