Fact of the day: The evolution of word villain from its origin in the 1300's progressed like so
Inhabitant of a farm, to peasant, to churl, to boor, to clown, to miser, to knave, to scoundrel.
Our current meaning "character in a novel, play, etc. whose evil motives or actions help drive the plot" is from 1822.
Huh... You think our societal class issues are deeply rooted?
ETA: On the topic of social issues - I hate that my automatic first statement when talking about the way the societal treatment of women bothers me always ends up being "I'm not trying to be a feminist bitch." You know what I am feminist, and there are things about the way the world works that bother me. This idea that women who express dissatisfaction with the status quo are (or will inevitably be seen as) bitches bothers me immensely. I hate that it's a concept that lives in my own head.
I don't think I'm unreasonable. I want my sisters and my (hypothetical) daughters to grow up with a strong sense that they are equal, self sufficient, and complete within their own identity. That's just the barest beginnings of what I want them to intrinsically know about themselves. I hate when my female siblings and friends don't stand up for themselves because they've been culturally conditioned not to. It makes me crazy that in 90% of the places I've worked - places predominantly staffed by women - the male minority (who I love and know are completely equal in ability) are given an unreal level of precedence BY OTHER WOMEN. I might understand this being the case if it was an "old boy's club" setting, but that women are pushing this system of inequality drives me CRAZY. I'm not even going to touch on the rampant self image issues that afflict some of the most lovely and intelligent women I know. But, for my own part, I would like to be able to visit the south without having some hyper-conservative guy talk to me condescendingly as though he's benevolently acknowledging my existence. Heck, I'd like to visit my parent's church without the 19 year old (who I have known since he was 4) treating me that way. Perhaps people who don't travel among the uber-conservative homeschooling community don't run across that, but it really pushes my buttons. If wanting these things - which seem to me to be simply equality and respect issues - makes me a feminist bitch then so be it.
ETA 2: guess who's supposed to be writing a paper? Yep, I get stuck on other topics whenever I'm blocked.
