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The past really is a foreign country.


When I was in elementary school Dolly Parton boob jokes made the rounds. I think we've all adjusted our view of her as a person since those days


My 4th grade teacher in the early 90s, she called improper fractions "Dolly Parton Fractions," because they are bigger on top. Nearly 20 years later, my kid had the same teacher. The teacher was embarrassed to be reminded of the technique, haha.


There are different standards expected of schoolboys compared to respected scientists announcing historic breakthroughs.


Within her family friendly choice of language, she wasn't shy of making jokes about her own appearance:

“I make jokes about it, but it's the truth that I kind of patterned my look after the town tramp. I didn't know what she was, just this woman who was blond and piled her hair up, wore high heels and tight skirts, and, boy, she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Momma used to say, "Aw, she's just trash," and I thought, That's what I want to be when I grow up. Trash.”

and:

"It costs a lot of money to look this cheap"


It was part of her fame, for decades, as she intended. She was not shy or ashamed about it.

Nowadays we may be extremely sensitive about that sort of thing (increasingly on behalf of others, unsolicited), but at the time it was not mean spirited or wildly offensive.


> at the time it was not mean spirited or wildly offensive.

That's what "the past is a foreign country" is meant to communicate.


In the 80's there was a relatively famous Canadian comedy duo that did a song called Dolly Parton's T*ts. Definitely there was an obsession with them. I still remember David Letterman joking with her about them, too.




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