A New Orleans toaster, Christopher Wilkinson, defines the toast as a mostly male event. Wilkinson is aware that some women and men are often offended by versions including profanity, negative views of Black women, or sexual explicitness. However, he feels that most men find a release and celebration in the heroic deeds of the central character in the toast. The toaster relates to Shine's fantastic heroic feats. In the case of the Signifying Monkey, a continuously grueling verbal duel is in process with the little but clever Monkey instigating, taking knocks but getting up like a champ.
Blacks celebrate the uplift the accomplishments bring, however fanciful.
As a result, the toast tradition has survived as a folk event because it provide s cultural identification and reinforcement for participants. Christopher Wilkinson, born in New Orleans but raised in Bunkie, is a toaster in the more traditional sense. His training was strictly verbal from another toaster. Wilkinson learned some toasts by heart and presents them with a lot of heart. Christopher Wilkinson will deliver a lively and entertaining, but self-censured, performance.