Examples Of Sexism In Othello

Does this play reinforce or challenge racial/sexist stereotypes? Shakespeare’s play, Othello, is but also is not racist and sexist. It was a different time in history, so that meant they were obviously going to have conflicting views to today. There are some quotes like these ones, “How didst thou know ‘twas she?- O, she deceives me.” (Shakespeare 1.1184-185) and of course “Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.” (Shakespeare 1.3 131). People tended to judge what they did not know or if something was different, like skin color, if someone with darker skin was in a group of lighter skinned people then they were automatically black. Sexism was different then as well, a women was just a object, something pretty to show off to your friends, and families often sold their daughters or arranged marriages for them, and they had almost no voice in the matter.
The whole scene 3 of act 1, they call Othello, one of the main characters, a moor (a word used then for people who were not venetian and of darker skin) and they say he is “black”. The Duke in a way stands up to Brabantio (Othello’s wife’s father) and tells him that Othello is “far more fair than black”. It’s like how today people will call people of other races and cultural backgrounds certain names, racism has been around for so long and I don’t think it will ever go away, it’s how the person is raised to determine these things