I think I can speak for all men about the punching in the nads thing, yes. It's a common experience and we all perceive it in the same way. Yes, there will be people on the edges of the bell curve who enjoy the pain, but they will still experience the pain in the same way.
The listener also has a choice, which is the bit overlooked. The listener can take offence, or not take offence. They can listen, or not listen. They can interpret the intent behind the words as generously as possible or as meanly as possible. Being punched in the 'nads always hurts, being told you're an idiot can hurt or not hurt depending on how you take it, and the person telling you you're an idiot may have no idea they're about to cause pain rather than laughter.
And I'm drawing on the history of prohibition, when alcohol was criminalised and the majority/large minority of society still drank it, enough to make the rule of law irrelevant.
There's also the outlawing of prostitution, which doesn't prevent prostitution, just makes prostitutes less likely to report crimes against them (such as rape) and makes them more vulnerable because of their criminal status. It's pretty easy to see if you criminalise a common activity, it doesn't prevent the activity, but criminalises otherwise law-abiding people and prevents the reporting of more serious crimes because of the criminal status of the victims.