When Men Become Women: Parody and Satire in Khady Touré's Film Échange Inégal: Goor Dongue

Abstract

ABSTRACT In contemporary Senegal, gender violence is pervasive, and it has become challenging to speak about it. Female suffering is normalized and viewed as part of womanhood. Language and Islam are often manipulated to justify the oppression of women. Échange Inégal: Goor Dongue, a short film directed by Khady Touré, uses parody to reverse gender roles in Senegal and profiles a society where girls are the preferred gender and where women are polyandrous and occupy all positions of power at home and in public. This inversion disrupts gender norms and transfers gender-based suffering from bodies associated with subordination (women) to bodies associated with dominance (men). This article argues that the film uses parody to make female suffering legible on male bodies to criticize the current gender inequalities in Senegal. The patriarchal manipulations of language and religion are central to the analysis.