The style of satire

Satirical articles seem to be a bit confusing to me at first, especially if I am not aware of the sarcastic tone to begin with. I realize late into the article that I shouldn’t be taking everything so literally but rather that the author is trying to make a point by using this literary genre.

I find that some satirical literature can even be funny to listen to or to read but I feel that it can sometimes be difficult to understand the difference between satire and logic if one is not careful. As I was reading “9 Non-threatening Leadership Strategies for Women” by Sarah Cooper this was the case. I began reading this essay without even thinking that this article could be strongly satirical in the message that it was meant to bring across. As I got deeper and deeper into the article, scrolling through each picture that accompanied each of the nine “non-threatening leadership strategies for women”, I found myself scoffing at the images and the messages that they were portraying. Remember, I was reading with a logical perspective. I began to question the intentions of the author, Sarah Cooper. Did she really think these leadership strategies were helpful for women? They seemed to favor the male and downplay any success that the female leader had accomplished.

With some more time, I finally realized the satire that was being implemented in this article. Now that I know, I am impressed at how satirical use can sometimes portray a statement more strongly than if just simply stated in a logical way. These nine “non-threatening leadership strategies for women” showed how males tend to make any success that women may experience in the workplace a display of aggressiveness on the part of the woman. Instead of simply stating this, Sarah Cooper was able to use a comical style to illustrate some problems that are still evident in our society.