Everybody has a view or an opinion on what is sexist. At a certain point, something goes over the line and becomes sexist. But is that line always the same? Or is it something we’ve created and are constantly moving forward as a society.

To start off, let’s look at sexism and it’s origins. Where did this word that we use to outline inequity between men and women come from? It turns out that the word itself is most likely only from 1965 but the actual concept is thousands of years old. If you were in a village 10000 years ago, I’m sure you can imagine that sexism isn’t what we know it as now. Women weren’t treated as people, but objects. Women were never educated or even given a chance at equality. Another stark contrast from what sexism is today is the Elizabethan era. In the Elizabethan era one of the greatest sources we have is Shakespeare. Although most of his plays were fictional, they still provide great insight and help us get an understanding of the culture at the time. One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays is The Taming of The Shrew. It recites an old story of a shrew (a non-submissive woman) and how she is “tamed” into a functioning member of society. This alone shows us that at the time, women who wouldn’t let themselves be seen as second to men, weren’t accepted. The notion that a women could be self sufficient and not necessarily subservient to any man who beckoned her was not accepted.

In retrospect, it looks like women have more rights than ever in our current world. It seems that women’s are almost equal but if we extrapolate what has happened it the past, I’m sure that in the future even progressives from our time, will been seen as sexist. Shakespeare, an outstanding playwright and poet, was most likely a very forward thinking individual in comparison to his compatriots. Looking back however, Shakespeare had some extremely sexist and unprofessional views on what a woman was. 

I think that after looking through history, it’s safe to say that “the line” of what is sexist and what isn’t, is always shifting. Compared to the past, we are definitely moving on a path toward equality, and hopefully we stay that way. I’m sure of you took a smaller amount of time, and looked at only that, there definitely have been times where society has moved backwards. For now and in the future, let’s continue to move in the direction of equality.