Satire is a powerful artistic form designed to change bad human behavior. It uses irony, wit, and ridicule to attack human vice, folly, and foolishness. As such it is a tool that can be used to defeat street harassment.
Satire can be used to deny and refute the power of street harassers and expose their weaknesses and flaws.
The Harasser, the Toad, and the Goddesses’ Daughter: A Tale for Woman
A long time ago there was a far away land where almost all people treated each other with friendliness and respect. Men and women would politely nod or say “hello” as they passed each other on the sidewalk. There only two exceptions to this behavior, and they were the grownup brothers Tom and Terry Toaden.
The Toaden brothers lived with their elderly mother on the outskirts of town. The Toadens looked the same as other men. But they were different. The Toadens were disrespectful and inappropriate to women.
As a result of their harassing, they both had never had a girlfriend or even had gone on a single date. The more women rejected them due to their unattractive behavior, the worse their behavior became. Their behavior was frowned upon by the entire town and as a result, they were unable to stay employed. While other men worked, the Toaden brothers would spend their entire day harassing women and scaring teenage girls.
Tom, the more verbal of the two, would hangout on street corners and parks. He would hoot, holler, and hiss as women walked by. While driving the family Toaden mobile, he would roll down his window and honk and yell at women as they went about their daily business.
Terry, other the other hand preferred to creep and crawl in underground areas where women and girls could be found. Sometimes he would leer at and frighten young girls. Other times, he would expose himself, or sneak up and rub against unsuspecting women.
One evening Tom and Terry were walking home after a full day of harassing women. A teenage girl passed them on the side walk. Tom took one look at her and began one of his favorite lines, “Hey baby, I’d like to …”. But this was no ordinary mortal girl. This was Wanda, the youngest daughter of a goddess. Wanda was in training to become a full fledged goddess.
Upon hearing the comment, Wanda became furious. She whipped around and said “Who are you, and you how dare you speak to me that way?” The brothers replied in unison “We’re the Toaden brothers. We treat all women this way.”
As the youngest daughter of three, Wanda was a bit impulsive. She responded with “Well, I see you for what you really are: Sexless Toads.” With a wave of her hand, Wanda cast a curse upon the two brothers. “From now on, whenever you harass women on the street, you will reveal your true form for all to see.” said Wanda with a smile. The Toaden brothers immediately took the form of Sexless Toads and hopped home as fast as they could.
But Wanda had made a terrible mistake. Unfamiliar with lasting effects of her powers, she did not realize that Sexless Toads can multiply on their own. No females are necessary.
Now to this day, the decedents of Tom and Terry Toaden can be found hanging out on street corners, in parks, on buses, riding subways, and in public areas in cities all over the world. They hoot, holler, hiss, honk, exposure themselves, grope, rub against women and girls during the day and night. But they are easy to spot. The moment they begin their harassment, they show their true form, the form of the Sexless Toad.
The End.
The purpose of this story is to demonstate how to change the power dynamic of a situation with either spoken worlds or visual imagry. If car drive drives by you filled with men hooting and honking, it is likely you will feel angry and intimidated. But if you imagine that they are in fact half-naked sexless toads, the visual imagine will help counter your inital anger and feeling of intimidation.
This same method applies to the Charmer Wannabe, Crude Oaf, the Creep, and the Touchy Feeler. These harassers depend upon the Target being overly intimidated. Refuting the harasser's power changes the power dynamic.
To read more about satire as tool to change bad behavior, please refer to this report:
The Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire" by Megan LeBoeuf
Satire can be used to deny and refute the power of street harassers and expose their weaknesses and flaws.
The Harasser, the Toad, and the Goddesses’ Daughter: A Tale for Woman
A long time ago there was a far away land where almost all people treated each other with friendliness and respect. Men and women would politely nod or say “hello” as they passed each other on the sidewalk. There only two exceptions to this behavior, and they were the grownup brothers Tom and Terry Toaden.
The Toaden brothers lived with their elderly mother on the outskirts of town. The Toadens looked the same as other men. But they were different. The Toadens were disrespectful and inappropriate to women.
As a result of their harassing, they both had never had a girlfriend or even had gone on a single date. The more women rejected them due to their unattractive behavior, the worse their behavior became. Their behavior was frowned upon by the entire town and as a result, they were unable to stay employed. While other men worked, the Toaden brothers would spend their entire day harassing women and scaring teenage girls.
Tom, the more verbal of the two, would hangout on street corners and parks. He would hoot, holler, and hiss as women walked by. While driving the family Toaden mobile, he would roll down his window and honk and yell at women as they went about their daily business.
Terry, other the other hand preferred to creep and crawl in underground areas where women and girls could be found. Sometimes he would leer at and frighten young girls. Other times, he would expose himself, or sneak up and rub against unsuspecting women.
One evening Tom and Terry were walking home after a full day of harassing women. A teenage girl passed them on the side walk. Tom took one look at her and began one of his favorite lines, “Hey baby, I’d like to …”. But this was no ordinary mortal girl. This was Wanda, the youngest daughter of a goddess. Wanda was in training to become a full fledged goddess.
Upon hearing the comment, Wanda became furious. She whipped around and said “Who are you, and you how dare you speak to me that way?” The brothers replied in unison “We’re the Toaden brothers. We treat all women this way.”
As the youngest daughter of three, Wanda was a bit impulsive. She responded with “Well, I see you for what you really are: Sexless Toads.” With a wave of her hand, Wanda cast a curse upon the two brothers. “From now on, whenever you harass women on the street, you will reveal your true form for all to see.” said Wanda with a smile. The Toaden brothers immediately took the form of Sexless Toads and hopped home as fast as they could.
But Wanda had made a terrible mistake. Unfamiliar with lasting effects of her powers, she did not realize that Sexless Toads can multiply on their own. No females are necessary.
Now to this day, the decedents of Tom and Terry Toaden can be found hanging out on street corners, in parks, on buses, riding subways, and in public areas in cities all over the world. They hoot, holler, hiss, honk, exposure themselves, grope, rub against women and girls during the day and night. But they are easy to spot. The moment they begin their harassment, they show their true form, the form of the Sexless Toad.
The End.
The purpose of this story is to demonstate how to change the power dynamic of a situation with either spoken worlds or visual imagry. If car drive drives by you filled with men hooting and honking, it is likely you will feel angry and intimidated. But if you imagine that they are in fact half-naked sexless toads, the visual imagine will help counter your inital anger and feeling of intimidation.
This same method applies to the Charmer Wannabe, Crude Oaf, the Creep, and the Touchy Feeler. These harassers depend upon the Target being overly intimidated. Refuting the harasser's power changes the power dynamic.
To read more about satire as tool to change bad behavior, please refer to this report:
The Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire" by Megan LeBoeuf