Class Disruption (Ides)

[Deleted]

Post dated to first day of University classes

Okie dokey, this was gunna be fun! Well, hopefully, it was a butt-early hour where she'd rather be squeezing that butt and enjoying it rather than having it wake her up and fart her off to her first day of college classes. Wheeeee~

Ugh...Brooke needed more sleep. Maybe she shouldn't've had that extra shot of tequila last night?

The bright side was that Brooke heard that she didn't necessarily have to show up for every single class so long as she got the assignments figured out and turned in on time and showed up for the exams....wasn't that how college worked? She hoped so, because getting up this early every day was going to be the death of her.

Brooke shuffled into the classroom with the rest of the herd and took a seat on the far end of the room one row back from the front. Close enough to the front that she could see the board and hear the teacher, but still out of the way from people and not center stage so as to draw his attention and be labeled as the 'teacher's pet'. She pulled out her sociology book and flipped through the first couple of chapters. Looked like a bunch of stuff she read before in the library. Back when she was perpetually bored. Brooke really hoped she didn't get as bored in college.

Once the majority of the students had finished filing in and the clock showed that it was just past the start time for the class hour, the professor finally spoke up with the lesson.

"Welcome to Sociology 101. I'm Professor Dean Radcliff. I'll answer to any combination of those three names, I'm not one of those teachers who makes you address them as "Professor" or "Doctor" just for the ego trip." With luck, that would get a laugh from the class full of mostly freshman and sophomores. "We're going to start out the class with a little group exercise. Participation will get you full points for the day...yes, I'm one of those teachers who keeps track of who participates and who doesn't" He looked around the classroom of about 40 students. Generously small for a 101 class. "First, I want you to tell me how many different words and synonyms you can come up with for the word "woman". Anybody?"

Brooke smiled. This was going to be fun.

[Ides Alevi]

Ah, college time again. Ides strode down the hall to the classroom with long, lanky strides. A 101 class. He'd tried to convince faculty that he would be better suited to a more advanced Sociology class, but they had all replied in kind-- rules were rules, and they were in place for a reason. Ah well, hopefully it would bore him. And even if the subject matter itself bored him, he had heard that the professor was good. So long as that was true, he had hope for some interesting conversations or debates.

Upon reaching the classroom, several minutes early, he settled into a seat front center. Not only because studies had proved students further in the front did better, but more importantly, sitting in the front offered much, much fewer distractions for the ridiculously distractible meta.

Know your weakness, right?

He watched each person to come in with a look of disinterest, though mentally he was carefully studying them. Guy with several tattoos, sat in the polar back, probably not the type to engage in any sort of in depth class discussion. As usual, not many sat in the front couple rows, but the ones who did he took particular note of. These would likely be the most interesting people of the class, after all.

Normal looking guy... girl with bright blond hair... girl with dark brown hair, who was flipping through her sociology book and not looking particularly impressed by it.

Welcome to Sociology 101...

Ides snapped his attention to the professor as he started talking, gave a half smile at his joke. Yeah, this professor shouldn't be too bad... Seemed easygoing... And he was starting class off with class participation. Definite points, in Ides' opinion. He put his hand in the air promptly before spouting off a short list. "The softer, fairer, and weaker sex, dependent, emotional, clingy, graceful, submissive, passive." Though he kept his attention on the professor, he listened for the class's reaction. A few of those he had thrown in with the direct intention of getting a reaction, despite his perfectly serious face.

He was going to like this class...

[Deleted]

This was a class that Brooke had been looking forward to taking, though upon skimming through the material, she had her doubts at how interesting and fulfilling and thought provoking it would end up being. In high school, Brooke had a bad habit of skipping class to spend her days in the library, reading up on more advanced, that is, interesting topics than the dull high school curriculum that the rest of her peers were constantly complaining about. It was her hope that rising up into the ranks of the graduated that she could be met with something a little(or a lot) more challenging. Then she might actually develop a itch to learn this crap.

Well, most of it Brooke already had a fair idea of what it was. She could think, after all. Couldn’t everybody?

The instructor…Brooke had to give him props for opening up the floor for discussion for their first “assignment” rather than immediately drone on into a lecture that nobody wanted to hear. It was effective. It captured the attention of the students in the class. And…it forced those kids who were looking for an easy ditch, who were waiting for him to get past the syllabus and expectations phase of the class, to stick around until he finally did.

Brooke held down a snicker at the response the first boy provided to the teacher, looking at some of the reactions that some of these “fairer” and “weaker” sex-ers were giving to such labels. The guy in the back, the one with the tattoos, spoke up as well, offering the words “Lady, damsel, sugar, babe.”, while another offered “Mother, daughter, sister, wife”.

Brooke didn’t leave much time for someone else to answer, she didn’t even raise her hand. “Bitch, cunt, twat, harpy, skank, slut, vixen, tramp, whore, witch, wench, ho,” she fired off rapidly, each word enunciated so as to keep their meaning clear. Brooke rested back in her chair and crossed her arms smugly.

The professor smiled. “That’s right, don’t be afraid to list of the negative as well as the positive. We’re going to go into this more in a moment.” He turned and started writing each of the words already listed up on the whiteboard. ”Keep going,” he instructed.

[Ides Alevi]

Ides glanced at each of the students who spoke in turn, considering and validating each word offered. Lady, damsel, sugar, babe... Good enough, though he could debate over "sugar". But another student offered more words a moment later, and he didn't feel so skeptical to "sugar" that he would pursue it beyond surface.

Mother, daughter, sister, wife... Not particularly original, but true enough. The professor hadn't asked for original, after all.

He shifted as a girl in the second row spouted off a string of women related slang. Ah, slang. It didn't matter so much to him that it had all been negative, the slang bothered him more. However, he reminded himself, slang or not, they were all words referring to women.

"Pert, wanton, matriarchal, cute, feisty, high-maintenance..." He paused, frowning a bit. "Of course, this largely depends on whether you are wanting words that are similar in reference to social bias, norms, and culture, or person experience. If it were in reference to social bias or norms, that begs the question which culture, for there are certain cultures in which women have, to our culture, very masculine traits. But if you mean personal experience, then the words we could come up with as a class would be infinite, for women, just as much as men, are not set to a certain boundary in what can describe them."

Breath. "For example, we could go on naming various negative and positive connotations in reference to women, but they would all be both personally and culturally biased. A better answer to your request would be that any word in our language that could refer to a human being could refer equally to a women."

He could have gone on, but managed to quiet himself, even if he had to bite the inside of his lip to do so.

[Deleted]

Brooke like originality. She liked saying the thing that most people might be afraid to say. She liked challenging. She liked debates. This was an interesting discussion thus far, but Brooke thought that most of the people participating were coming up with the dullest things they could think of. Which only told her that maybe her initial impression of this class was right, it was going to be laaaaaaame.

Lame lame llama lame, which was inaccurate because llamas were the furthest thing from lame!

And the guy in front(really, what kind of person sat front in center? It made you look like a suck-up teacher’s pet, really, one row back was hands down the best place) kept putting out words that weren’t words meant woman, but obviously words he personally used to describe women. Brooke rolled her eyes.

The professor, however, smiled at the boy’s explanation and opened his mouth to respond. Unfortunately, Brooke got there first. “It also largely depends on whether you even perceive men and woman or anything else as being things to be described by the same cluster of words or not. Mr. Teacher here asked for words that mean “woman”, but does that mean exclusively or can you count, like what you’ve been doing, just words that you can use to describe your impression of women.” Brooke smirked. “A man can be just as pert, wanton, cute, feisty, and high-maintenance as a girl. And next time you want to assume that females are the softer, weaker sex, I invite you to a good old-fashioned wrestling match with me.” A tongue was quickly produced between her lips. “Ya ain’t giving words that mean “woman”, ya just giving your opinion of woman. And I think if ya be doing that, it’s either cuz you a dick or you want peeps to think yur a dick.”

As if Brooke couldn’t spot a troll a mile away. She was one, after all.

[Ides Alevi]

Ides grinned as the girl cut over the professor's beginning of a response. Finally, a reaction. And from someone who sounded like they would be extremely amusing to talk, or better, debate with.

"Actually," he tilted his head to the side, taking on a thoughtful look, "The professor's exact words were, 'I want you to tell me how many different words and synonyms you can come up with for the word "woman"," he made sure to quote this word-for-word. "He didn't ask specifically for words that directly 'mean' 'woman'. The request of how many different words can you come up with is, arguably, much different from how many synonyms, because words can include adjectives, and as he did not ask us to cull adjectives from our word lists..." He shrugged before tumbling on to the next thoughtline that had been triggered.

"As for my giving my 'opinion' of women, I could say that you are equally as guilty of your words mirroring your opinion. 'Bitch' for example does not necessarily mean 'woman', nor do any of your other words necessarily mean woman, though I admit that wench, when used in reference to a male, is actually archaic. All of the others can also either be used to describe a male, or are actually words for something completely different. For example, 'Twatt' is the name of two separate settlements in Ireland, if I recall the map correctly." Which, of course, he did. "The names you gave all depend on your lens, just as much as mine. Mine are words society would use to the stereotypical female."

Breath.

"I do not assume things, I assure you, I only accept what has been proven by solid fact and logic." He offered a placid smile. The class was staring at them now. Not surprising, and it didn't really affect Ides, either. He maintained his easy seat with his hands folded in front of him, only slightly shifted to regard his fellow classmate.

"And a wrestling match would be highly entertaining," he added, for amusement's sake

[Deleted]

Typically, being put in one’s place like that would have caused a person to silence themselves and shirk away with embarrassment, especially at the point of misquoting the assignment. How long had it been since someone had been able to debate intelligently opposite of her?

Brooke didn’t disagree with what this boy was saying. In fact, she was half inclined to relent to his ‘logic’….but countering it was much more fun! She waited patiently, the smile on her face never ceasing, as he iterated his debate.

“I don’t disagree entirely,” she continued, sitting up in her seat and accounting her thoughts via her fingers. “Yes, synonyms are words which have the same or similar meaning, but only in the case where one can be replaced directly with the other. That is, they have to be the same part of speech. The word “woman” is a noun. You can’t very well replace the word “woman” with “feisty”, now can you? Take it’s use in a sentence. When replaced with “feisty”, you’d get something like “The feisty strolled down the street ignoring the catcalls she got from the group of burly twats on the corner.” Now, if you want to get into the habit of ’noun-ing’ adjectives, then technically it could be considered correct, but it’d be hella confusing for those who don’t share your train of thought or associations.” She paused. “Which would mean nearly everyone who is not you. Which in turn doesn’t make it common enough to be considered as something used by this ‘society’ you speak of.”

“Which, by the by, is moving far far past the days where women were considered the “weaker” of the two sexes. Though from the sounds of it, if you think those are the current stereotypes, then I have to re-introduce you to this thing called the 21st century, where those stereotypes are dissipating fast.”

Brooke grinned. “As for your “twat” argument, I see what you did there. But if we’re going to start talking geography, then Mrs. Osgood’s office is down the hall, buh-bye!” She gave him a little wave followed by a giggle. “Though it does highlight how the same word from hundreds of years ago can be split in it’s usage to mean two completely different things based on the society which gets ahold of it. Is it a clearing of land? Or woman’s vagina? And when did it start being used as a euphemism for the latter? Just think that in another hundred years or so, seemingly innocent words of today could be twisted into becoming the most offensive thing ya evah heard.” Brooke protruded her tongue. “But I digress.”

Brooke crossed her thin legs in her seat, looking about as dainty as a…woman! “As for the wrestling match…clothes on or off? Mud or no? Or are we going Sumo for this shiz?”

The class still remained silent, giving the two debaters their full attention. The professor opened his mouth as if to try and stop them…but Brooke had blanked that guy out entirely already. This was much more fun than whatever he had planned.

[Ides Alevi]

If it was one thing Ides wouldn't have wanted, it would have been for this person to silence herself. Quite to the contrary-- he hated it when people did that. And too many people did so, if you asked him. What was even better about this particular situation, was that she actually seemed to be enjoying herself even. Wonderful.

First, the synonym thing. "Granted," he mused. "Synonyms should be able to be directly substituted, it is true. However, he said, words and synonyms, not just synonyms." He shrugged. "So much as your argument for synonyms was sound and logical, it falls flat in the choice of word it is coupled with-- 'words' is an extremely broad concept, one that I utilized. So my suggestions were just as logical, and also just as narrow, as your word choice. You were restricted by synonyms specifically, I by adjectives specifically. If you think about it, everyone restricts their thinking in some way, be it by outside influence, or internal."

"And again, you have a valid point that women as the 'weaker sex' is becoming an antiquated notion, however it would be going too far to say that it is currently antiquated. Some still hold to the idea, especially in other cultures. For the sake of argument, though, I'll restrict myself to the 21st century in the American culture... which, by the way, has several cultures within it." He paused a moment, thinking this over. A culture like the American one was virtually a mutt culture, made up of so many different peoples from so many different countries. It was hard to determine whether there was a pure American culture or not. He very nearly went off on a mental tangent, reviewing and comparing all the cultures in America, but caught himself at the last moment.

"Anyway, 'dissipating fast' is different from 'already dissipated'," he finished briefly.

And now a new fascinating subject to cover! Slang. "It is interesting how language and slang has developed, isn't it? It's a fascinating subject to study... How some words make it as popular slang, and how some don't. I mean, slang usually starts in small, specific instances, but then it gets out and sometimes grows to being widely known and used. The factors that promote a certain word over another, though? Less easily figured out..." Yes, he would definitely have to research it more in depth very soon.

The idea of actually going through with a wrestling match with this girl drew an actual real laugh from him. However, he played along, of course. "Sumo, of course," he snorted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

And as far as the class went, he didn't particularly care about them. If they wanted to join in the conversation, he wouldn't mind, but if they tried to interfere.. well, they would get ignored. He'd shifted himself to face the fellow student by this time, the professor no longer even possibly held his attention.