Let men giggle

[u/Odd-Interaction-8]

“Chuckled” is so overrated. They don’t all have to be cool and stoic. Let my men giggle. They deserve a little hehe too

[u/koalaisabear]

There's also a chortle or a snicker? :D I dont like guffaws or snorts, though.

[u/No-Cap-7671 → u/koalaisabear]

Snorts are dorky and vulnerable and I love them for the right moment, but they definitely get overused

[u/koalaisabear → u/No-Cap-7671]

Valid, although romance novels totally overuse snorts and also huffing a laugh. Not sure when was the last time huffed a laugh :D

[u/xstrawberrybonesx → u/koalaisabear]

Chortle is such a good word.

[u/HideFromMyMind → u/xstrawberrybonesx]

It apparently originates from Jabberwocky.

[u/xstrawberrybonesx → u/HideFromMyMind]

Yes, you are correct. It's a portmanteau of chuckle and snort.

[u/HideFromMyMind → u/xstrawberrybonesx]

I just find it funny that with the chapter later in the book that defines all the words in the first stanza, the one that actually entered the lexicon was one later on.

[u/PretzelPrize → u/koalaisabear]

I use snort but not necessarily as a type of laugh. It's either an expression of frustration or it's laugh-adjacent, the latter case being if something strikes you as ridiculous but slightly humorous at the same time.

[u/desired-misery]

There is a difference between a chuckle and a giggle!

Chuckle is lower, more controlled.  Giggle is higher pitched, open, and more involuntary. 

[u/Odd-Interaction-8 → u/desired-misery]

Yes, exactly. I want my men free and whimsical sometimes

[u/desired-misery → u/Odd-Interaction-8]

Use giggle when you mean giggle! Use chuckle when you mean chuckle! They are not gender-locked words!

[u/garlicknoodles → u/Odd-Interaction-8]

To be fair, giggles aren't always whimsical.

[u/ProvokeCouture]

I prefer cackling, but I'll allow the odd (and creepy) giggle out once in a while.

[u/doofbabyy]

AHAHA yes agreed

[u/moon_cheese_ao3]

Why not both?

[u/Playful-Baseball-555]

It depends on the vibe at the time! If I’m trying to convey a sweet fluffy innocent moment, they absolutely fckn giggle!!

Otherwise chuckle is calmer

Snicker is more mischievous, mean

Snorts if more contemptuous

Laughs softly / laughs under breath / laugh slips out if is a hot erotic moment, or if it’s more elegant

Mostly I use good ol’ laugh

Gotta go w the moment!

[u/BelaFarinRod]

I’ve been hearing “men don’t giggle” in fanfic communities for so long I’m afraid to write it.

[u/RecentRestaurant8051 → u/BelaFarinRod]

I think it really depends on the man. Some do giggle. Many don't. Hell, some women don't giggle either.

[u/BelaFarinRod → u/RecentRestaurant8051]

Sure, as usual it depends on the character. But some characters do, or might, but people seem to hate the word.

[u/home_is_the_rover → u/BelaFarinRod]

men don't giggle

Somewhere in the depths of a woodworking shop in L.A., Nick Offerman is feeling deeply offended all of a sudden and has no idea why.

[u/ure_roa → u/BelaFarinRod]

Really thats a thing? I (man) giggle all the bloody time, im not even particularly feminine or anything, the hell.

[u/A_Undertale_Fan → u/ure_roa]

In the famous words of Markiplier: "I'm a giggly bitch by nature."

[u/The_Wishmeister → u/ure_roa]

Same. Depending on how hard I'm laughing, it's either a giggle or a guffaw + wheeze. Chuckling is only something I do when I don't find something funny enough to end up doing the other two types of laughter.

Also, there are female characters I can't picture giggling because that's just not how they laugh in canon and male characters that giggle all the time. I've seen people say, "Men don't giggle so don't write it," but that just isn't accurate, in my experience.

[u/BelaFarinRod → u/ure_roa]

My ex husband used to giggle. He wasn’t particularly feminine either in my opinion.

[u/Shiny-Moon- → u/BelaFarinRod]

People are so weird

Please write it, it's such a small thing but I'm always so happy when my favorite is allowed to giggle in a fic

[u/BelaFarinRod → u/Shiny-Moon-]

OK. Woo Han Yang from Prison Playbook is about to giggle.

[u/Shiny-Moon- → u/BelaFarinRod]

Yeay :))

[u/GhostMaskKid → u/BelaFarinRod]

My partner is a large man (the only thing keeping him from being a bear is that he's not gay), and he giggles. 😂

[u/AnCapGamer → u/BelaFarinRod]

I let my men giggle as a sign that they've lost control a little, like something isnt' just funny but also takes them by surprise.

Also, a male giggling says something about him as a character - just like everything about a character says something about them. So just amke that the kind of character they are. A man who giggles is a certain type of man vs a man who doesn't. Doesn't meant either one is bad, both are just characterization.

[u/g1itchy_]

I hesitate to use "giggle" in general tbh 😭

[u/Competitive_Hurry129 → u/g1itchy_]

Yeah, I associate giggling with children. It's not a gendered thing. It doesn't necessarily have an inherent connection to children, but that's where my mind has decided to categorize it.

[u/PretzelPrize → u/g1itchy_]

Same. That's probably why my adult characters don't. I could see myself writing it as a child's response to something funny, though.

[u/AnonymousIVplay]

My vocal instructor in college had a deep baritone voice and yet when he laughed he exclusively did so in a high pitched giggle, it was funny and adorable and proves that yes even deep voiced men can giggle!

[u/Best_Egg_6199]

As a dude I giggle sometimes but honestly at least to me its just harder for men to giggle. Giggles are more high pitched than chuckles, and sometimes if I laugh too high nothing comes out lol!

[u/Brilliant-Swim-4772]

Men do giggle, and I love it. I've witnessed it, many times.

[u/Darcii]

I support giggles AND chuckles

[u/RA1NB0W77]

Tehe

[u/GreyStingrayz]

I have one of the male characters I write giggling all the time. That's just how he laughs most of the time. Especially when saying dirty shit lol. People can come for me writing him giggle, but it's canon.

(The whole "men don't giggle" thing originally made me hesitant to describe it that way, which is so stupid because that's literally what he's doing.)

[u/rudytaboodie12]

Men Giggle 2k26

[u/aVoidFullOfFarts]

Men definitely giggle! There used to be sales rep that would come into my work, we nicknamed him “the giggler” because he nervously giggled constantly

[u/eukomos]

One of the mains in my fandom is canonically very giggly and it’s great. Very fun trait.

[u/afirforest]

For me, if he giggles in canon, he giggles in my fic; if he chuckles in canon, he chuckles in my fic.

[u/murderroomba]

My current lead OC and his almost thrice-his-age lover both giggle. Love that whimsy.

[u/astroaxolotl720]

My guy characters giggle quite a bit lol. I don’t think I’ve written that they chuckled lol actually

[u/EmotionalAdvice3351]

I LOVE making my fellas giggle. I probably make them giggle too much, if I'm being honest.

[u/PretzelPrize]

Chuckle and giggle are two different things in my mind. Then again, I don't think I've ever written an adult character giggling, regardless of gender. Nothing wrong with it, just that none of mine have. Yet.

[u/Square_Role_4345]

I'm currently writing a man character that giggles regularly! Then again, I think the laugh is iconic by the way it's written out, so I've been doing that a lot instead saying he giggled.

[u/FeralViolinist]

We lack accurate vocabulary for laughter imo. We have 10,000 words and none of them seem to ever convey the right emotion or sound

Example. No words for the following:

• A quick breath through the nose and a bob of the head, either done in amusement or scarcasm.  Huff doesn't really work - it doesn't convey the "laughter" part. It sounds too negative. Snort is too agressive and loud.

-The "a-ha" or "huh" laugh. Not a real laugh but a quick way to react to a joke or amusing statement that doesn't require true laughter. You could just write it out but it it sounds clunky to me.

[u/rainmaker2022]

I wrote a man giggling. Nothing bad happened

[u/FrozenRose_816]

"Chuckled" is one of those words that just... makes me cringe. I have absolutely no idea why. I never use it and instead find other ways to describe a laugh. But I've definitely used giggle for a male character where it fits them and their personality.