I am someone who loves comedy, especially stand-up, but there are certain types of comedy that I tend to prefer over others. I tend to gravitate towards the more "wholesome" comedy of people like John Mulaney, Chelsea Peretti and Mike Birbiglia. The comedy I generally choose to watch is what I’d consider to be “smart” comedy: nuanced, observational and oftentimes political without being very aggressive or offensive. Recently, in my quest to expand my comedy palette and hear some new material, I’ve begun watching comedians that are often labelled as “edgy” or “controversial” and my reactions have been mixed.

Technically, there are no boundaries in comedy, no written rules that are taught to every self-loathing-yet-narcissistic young person who will inevitably try their hand at stand-up comedy. But each audience member has his/her own set of rules and expectations when watching comedy. For me, personally as a comedy viewer, there are some things that I think are inherently unfunny. I don’t like violence as a punchline and I don’t like when people belittle the defenseless.

There are many comedians that are overtly bigoted, making jokes that are obviously hateful and not much else. While I think these people have every right to make these jokes, I see them more as playground bullies than as actual comedians. However, that doesn’t mean that I think that there is no way for a comedian to be controversial and even offensive while still producing smart and interesting comedy. Some people find a thrill in being offended (my biggest dream is to have my own Comedy Central roast with Betty White as the roastmaster). I am beginning to think that offensive comedy is a valuable subcategory.

There are a few elements that I think separate the comedy that is edgy and challenging from the "comedy" of vitriolic YouTube video commenters. One being the intent of the joke. I think that mocking a marginalized group, targeting victims, or disparaging the plight of an individual or of many for laughs is always wrong and never remotely funny. But I don’t think that means that there is no way to tackle these more risky topics. One “rule” that many comedians have embraced is the idea of "punching up" instead of “punching down,” meaning that when discussing a delicate subject in one’s act, it is acceptable to make fun of the perpetrator, not the victim.

John Mulaney, a generally uncontroversial comedian has a bit in which he talks about being in a subway station late at night and walking behind a woman who begins running. He assumes that she's running because she hears the train approaching and starts to run as well. When she sees him start to run, she continues to run while yelling and turning to look at him. The point of the joke is that the woman initially picked up her pace so she wouldn’t have been alone in an empty subway station with a man at night. She started running because she thought he was chasing her to do some kind of harm to her, something Mulaney doesn't consider doing as he sees himself as “a little boy.”

This joke acknowledges the reality of sexual assault, but Mulaney also sees himself through the perspective of a woman, saying, “I’m an adult and adults rape each other...kind of a lot.” This bit (which is hilarious when not being overanalyzed) can be contrasted with one of Daniel Tosh’s “comedy” moments. At one of his shows, a woman interrupted Tosh’s pitch on the hilarity of rape jokes saying, “Actually, rape jokes are never funny.”

Tosh ever so gracefully responded to the heckler saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by like, five guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her?…” Tosh painted rape as a comical form of intimidation and control while Mulaney’s bit finds humor in the prevalence of rape and the fact that he can feasibly be viewed as a potential perpetrator.

While comedy is about personal taste and there is no standard for what is funny, I believe that there is comedy that is inherently more intelligent, nuanced and interesting. There are tons of comedians that shock for the sake of being shocking. While that’s a valid interpretation of comedy that people should feel free to enjoy, I think that there are many comedians that are edgy and shocking without making that their entire schtick. Comedians that I think embody this type of refined edginess include Sarah Silverman, Louis C.K, Anthony Jeselnik and Bo Burnham. However, almost all of these comedians have at some point in their career have been criticized for going “too far.”

It’s almost inevitable that in the refinement of their comedy, a controversial comedian will make a misstep and say or do something incredibly offensive. This can also be something that they will acknowledge as being harmful or unfair to a particular person or group. Trevor Noah, a comedian I find hilarious and respectable, was criticized as soon as he was announced as the new host of "The Daily Show" for some old tweets that continued classic juvenile humor such as fat jokes and jokes playing on simple stereotypes.

These tweets were used as ammo against Noah, but I think it is worth acknowledging that no comedian is born able to flawlessly make smart and humorous observations about society without making dumb jokes once in a while. Comedians can make jokes that land badly and offend people without being intrinsically hateful people, just like regular people can make faux pas.

When I recently watched Anthony Jeselnik's Netflix special "Thoughts and Prayers," I found myself feeling guilty for laughing at his dark, sociopathic stage persona and general political incorrectness. His work was offensive and shocking, but in the special he actually talked about why he made such dark jokes, arguing that there can be value in pushing boundaries. Some may think that P.C. culture will destroy his brand of edgy comedy, but I think it just forces comedians to offend responsibly.

The political correctness that so many people seem to despise is very useful in comedy because it makes comedians more aware of the ways in which sensitivities can impact how a joke lands, possibly making them more considerate and forcing them to strive for what I would call "smarter" comedy. With these sensitivities and values in mind, comedians are able to make informed decisions when deciding if and how their jokes will push boundaries and challenge their audiences.

Now we just need to find a way to push a joke like Donald Trump over a boundary. Anyone up for building a wall? (Too soon?)