Boy's Club Satire

“Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful”, (Molly Ivins, 2005). This phrase perfectly summarises the incredible lobbying potential possessed by satire; it depicts satire as a living and active force which unmasks and challenges society’s deplorable trends that serve as indictments with the intent of offering constructive social criticism. An example of a television series that utilises this weapon effectively is the political mockumentary television sitcom, Parks and Recreation. It exposes the absurd antics of an Indiana towns’ public officials as they pursue sundry projects to rectify their city. Furthermore, it also challenges and reinforces dominant western viewpoints surrounding stereotypical female attitudes

This is executed by using satire as a weapon to overrun hegemonic masculinity, subsequently streaming progressive information to further help reconstruct the portrayal of women in the workforce. The episode Boy’s Club deploys situational irony to reinforce the gender segregation that exists in the workforce. This is evident when Leslie opens a government gift basket of wine and cheese that exceeds $25.00, the limit a government employee can receive. By going against government rules, the satirist emphasises on the extents many women must go to in order to be seen as equals to their male counterparts. As a result, an audience is encouraged to support women’s rights and empathise with the daily discrimination they face in the workplace. Moreover, the satirist accentuates the barriers that are fuelled by gender and racial bias which keep women and minority racial groups from getting promotions, pay raises and further opportunities in corporations. This is accomplished by using the analogy of a ‘glass ceiling’ which represents the invisible informal barrier to women’s ascent in the workplace that is subtle to the point of being imperceptible yet unmistakably there. The scene of Leslie shattering the ‘glass ceiling’ parodies two events from the 2008 US elections; firstly, when

This is achieved by transgressing and reinforcing patriarchy taboos that prohibited women from doing certain jobs. Anti-feminism is explored in the beginning of the episode with the aid of hyperbole when Paul Horke explains to Leslie, April, Donna and Ann that the councilmen kept her menstrual cycle on a calendar and used that against her later on when she wanted to hire more women by claiming it as “just her time of the month”. By purposefully tossing jokes about anti-feminist and misogynistic attitudes, the episode reiterates the ridiculousness of anti-feminism and forces the audience to abandon harsh stigmas and outdated belief. To further advance the reinforcement of patriarchy taboos, the episode employs situational irony in the gender equality meeting scene which is made of primarily men and one woman, Leslie. This scene also parodies the 2012 Republican hearing on contraception in which the panel was composed only of men. By utilising situational irony and parody, the satirists exasperate an audience due to the prevalent injustice against women which has robbed them of their autonomy and freedom of speech into decisions that affect their lives. Finally, to deliver the coup de grace on patriarchy taboos in society, Women in Garbage employs juxtaposition and analogy in unison to highlight stereotypes that prohibit