But Silverman doesn’t think that changing with the times is that big of a deal. For instance, she once fought for her right to use the word “gay” pejoratively but then one day asked herself, “‘What am I fighting?’ I have become the guy from fifty years ago who says ‘I say colored, I have colored friends!’” As she points out, more often than not making little adjustments is actually pretty easy. Stopping herself from using “gay” as an insult “didn’t take long” and now she “[doesn’t] even think about it.”

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She acknowledges this is still something of a gray area for her but explains:

To a degree, everyone’s going to be offended by something, so you can’t just decide on your material based on not offending anyone. But, I do think it’s important, as a comedian, as a human, to change with the times. To change with new information. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with changing with the times. I think it’s a sign of being old when you are put off by that.

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It’s pretty basic stuff, and an apt description of the process by which comedy has historically moved away from the kind of humor we now (mostly) all agree is offensive—including minstrel shows and jokes that end with “a woman’s place is in the kitchen.” In other words, as much as this feels like a P.C. revolution, it can also be seen as the natural evolution of American culture. And Silverman isn’t quite as freaked out by it as some of her peers:

[h/t Salon]