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The Typo That Made Me Think About Authoritarianism
Did you ever notice how close ‘complaint’ and ‘compliant’ are?
I looked at my screen and froze. I’d meant to type “compliant” but had spelled it as “complaint.”
Oopsie. I’d broken the old spelling rule: “I” before “E” except after seeing that troublemakers need to STFU and stop making waves.
The world likes compliant people — especially women.
Compliant women make the patriarchal world go round. Women who dare make complaints, however, are difficult. They talk about wanting things to be fair. They want justice. They want change.
Complaint and compliant. It had never occurred to me how similar the two words are. Rearranging the “A” and the “I” changes everything.
I am not a compliant woman.
A close synonym for “compliant” is “submissive,” and God knows there are a lot of men out there who love a good submissive woman. One who will do as she is told. One who will obey. One who will not make trouble by expressing her own opinions or desires.
If you hold power of any sort, you probably love it when everyone around you is compliant. You make decisions and…
