‘You would be so pretty if you lost some weight.’ ‘Hey, that’s a pretty smart idea coming from somebody like you!’ ‘Now that your head is shaved, I can see that you really do have a funny-shaped...

‘You would be so pretty if you lost some weight.’

‘Hey, that’s a pretty smart idea coming from somebody like you!’

‘Now that your head is shaved, I can see that you really do have a funny-shaped head.’

Are these statements of aggression? Does deliberately embarrassing someone constitute aggression? If you imagine embarrassing someone, but don’t actually do so, are you being aggressive? Freud would likely call verbal taunts symbolic aggression. Do you agree that such behaviour is aggressive? Would you be willing to make similar interpretations about other forms of behaviour, such as love? Why or why not?