What's a the word for people who make fun of themselves?

I don't mean people with low self esteem.

But there are people who feel happy at being able to make other people laugh at their own expense. I remember someone telling me there is a word for them, I can't find it.

Let me explain:

I sometimes, while sitting with a group of people, might just tell them a personal embarrassing story, which might be completely fabricated, to make other people laugh. And when they laugh, I feel happiness.

I'm also self deprecating, but not in a way that I hate myself, rather, just my work (I'm a screenwriter) and knowing I can do better. I do not self deprecate myself in public (I don't praise myself either).

Edit: Now that its mentioned, I think the word I'm talking about was used to describe a person's sense of humor. Or it could be a word used to describe a psychological trait/disorder.

Edit: I just looked up humor styles on Wikipedia. And after reading it, I guess the word that closely matches what I'm looking for is 'Affiliated Humor' but in a 'Self Defeating' style.

Solution 1:

The term you are looking for is self-deprecating. The Oxford Dictionary of English by Angus Stevenson defines the word as meaning:

Modest about or critical of oneself, especially humorously so: ‘self-deprecating jokes’

Solution 2:

I think that what you are talking about is a personality trait known as

being able to laugh at yourself

and

not taking yourself too seriously

This quote of course can also describe someone's sense of humor and can mean a lot of things. For one, it could mean that you are so optimistic about your friends enjoying an embarrassing story about you that you are willing to admit any flaws or even make up a story to make them laugh. On the other hand it could mean that you are mentally strong. That you are able to accept your faults and be yourself. So the only word I could think of that could describe a person like this would be:

Humble: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance ¹

In your case, it would be a modest rather than a low estimate of one's own importance. I chose the word humble because you're willing to downplay yourself for the enjoyment of others, meaning that you do not care about looking "perfect" in front of others. You can be honest about your mistakes at times and still be okay with them. These are characteristics of humility.

¹ The Concise Oxford English Dictionary by Angus Stevenson and Maurice Waite

Solution 3:

I would go for:

self-mockery (or self-mocking according to the Oxford dictionnary)