A friend forwarded me the following joke, which was clearly intended to be a joke.

"The Japanese have developed a camera with a shutter speed so fast, that it can actually take a picture of a woman with her mouth shut."

I laughed and forwarded the email to a couple of my labmates, again, clearly intending it to be a joke. To my surprise, I received a reply from all three of my female colleagues, saying that they found the joke offensive. I have worked with them for three years and we know each other well, so that surprised me even more. I told them that I had not made it up and that I had really intended it as a joke. I apologized to them. But this makes me think, and I am wondering...is this different in the United States? Are modern American women particularly sensitive to such humour, which they think somehow threatens their individuality and/or freedom? Somehow, I get the feeling that I would not have gotten this reaction with my Indian friends who are girls.

This reminds me of Richard Feynman's experience in Japan, where a Japanese maid in a hotel accidentally walked on him coming out of the shower. He thinks that if this had happened in the US, there would have been shrill screams and a lot of hulabaloo. But the Japanese maid just excused herself and walked out. I also have read other accounts where American women seem to make a big deal out of such things (even if maybe the shower thing was really an unfortunate accident). I wonder if this is the correct reaction, or whether there is an inbuilt sense of exaggeration in them. I am not at all accusing, and I don't want to offend anyone. I am just trying to understand cultural differences.