chuckle

That's it--someone has to add manlaughter to his/her Wordie list.

It's not something I've really given much thought to. I suppose it's somewhat gender-neutral, meaning anyone can do it... but when I say girly I guess I'm thinking of a quiet, shy type of laugh, similar to a giggle, a characteristic of girlishness. Maybe that's my patriarchal bias. ;-)

Though I would submit that snicker is a good word for mildly amused manlaughter.

That's odd that you see it in reference to feminine laughter since I almost exclusively see it used (and perceive it) in reference to men. Essentially, it's the masculine version of a giggle. It actually bothers me a lot because, in writing, I'm often compelled to use "chuckle" even though I dislike the word because I can't really think of another one for mildly amused manlaughter.

I agree. Funny though, usually when I see this word it's in reference to a cute little restrained girly-type laugh, and yet for me it conjures images of horror-movie clowns freakishly popping out of darkened corners. Perhaps because of the similarity in names, I also think of Chucky from Child's Play.

Blech. The use of this word evokes a laugh that is both smug and vaguely sinister. Auditorily, it's a very wet, guttural word, akin to coughing up phlegm.