Othello Essay

In our culture today taboo is not so uncommon, there is taboo around the world. There are many types of taboo such as: eating habits, physical manipulation, fashion sense, different types of relationships with people, religious beliefs, afterlife beliefs, relationships with inanimate objects, etc. For instance, in my neighborhood there is an old man who dresses in womens clothing. This sort of taboo is known as cross-dressing, the practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex. Cross-dressing is a more common taboo today then in history. Though cross-dressing played many roles in history such as in shakespearian plays, men dressed up and acted like they were women. Cross-dressing seems to be more taboo when men dress like women, other than vice versa. Due to the fact that women’s fashion has more variety. Women wearing mens clothing is more acceptable in our culture. Most societies have had a set of social norms, views, guidelines or even laws defining what type of clothing is appropriate for each gender. This man in my neighborhood, seems to live alone, he walks around in dresses, skirts, with high heels, purses and other feminine clothing articles. He doesn’t bother anyone, or get into anyones way. He talks, and acts completely normal, but he gets the “weird stare” from many people in the neighborhood. This is only because nearly every human society through history has expected distinctions to be made between men and women by the style, color, or type of clothing they are expected to wear. I can’t quite pin point why cross dressing developed, especially for him, but there are many different reasons why an individual might engage in cross-dressing behavior: cross-dressing as a matter of comfort and style, they may prefer clothing associated with the opposite sex, or some people might cross-dress to shock others or challenge social norms.
Taboo to us? The norm to them, it all depends on your aspect of the cultures