heretic888
Senior Master
I'd say its cultural carry-overs from the patriarchal values that the West held for centuries. Remember, just because we more or less 'consensually' hold to gender egalitarianism now doesn't mean sexual discrimination will just vanish overnight (or in 30 years, even). There was slavery in the United States almost 100 years after the principles of human equality and dignity were brought forth in the Constitution. And we still have racism to this very day.
Real progress always takes time. And a lot of it.
As to why these patriarchal values popped up across the world in the first place, well that's a very complex issue. I can't buy into the "men forced it on all the women" angle, as this necessarily implies women are in fact inferior to men --- a conclusion I do not accept.
The simple historical truth is that there have always been just as many, or slightly more, women than men in history. And, since we don't have any historical proof of the Great Gender War in which men physically forced women into submission, the only way one can buy this "forced oppression" angle is if one accepts that women are somehow inherently less intelligent than men --- a repugnant notion.
The entire notion portraying women as being collectively "brainwashed" by the patriarchy not only paints men as pigs, but women as sheep. Now, is this very likely?? Of course not. A much more likely scenario was that men and women of all times and places co-created the societal forms of their cultures. And, when a societal form is more or less no longer needed, then it is let go (this was one of the primary reasons why slavery was finally rejected by the United States in the 1800's --- the industrial revolution).
Of course, sometimes, this process of "letting go" requires a revolution of sorts. Sometimes, even war.
Its something to think about, at the very least.
