Hi, I am Hully's DS. Hully said I could ask you a question!

As cinquefoil and Heebiejeebie said - what women do is mysterious (long ago) and women don't actually need men much unless they are threatened/nursing/pregnant. This is threatening.

I think that the power aspect also involves an economic point: it is very cost effective to keep half society subservient and working for free (even more so in societies where women can be bought and sold). (A similar case could and would have been made for slavery in Greek or Roman times (and modern ones, unfortunately).)

Hully DS, just out of interest, have you asked any men this, and if so, what do they think?

I think it was the "hit harder" bit that has shaped our society cinque.

Actually I think that the number one reason is that the old adage of "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world"

Much, much better to make sure that the hand that is rocking the cradle is controlled and conditioned to support the males, teach them, and let them lead the way (That's an old song BTW)

And thus ends my contribution to this thread.

But how do you define strong and weak? I mean, more female babies survive than male babies do, women tend to live longer, are less susceptible to heart attacks.

Men can run faster, hit harder, throw further.

But why would those things be more denoting of strength (especially if it's all about survival)?

Because no society is highly successful without first creating a slave class.

crazy - I think She was joking when she made women too.

How 1: Women are paid less to do the same job.

Why 1: Because women are seen as less efficient in the workplace due to divided loyalties between career and family

How 2: Women are expected to the more caring jobs needed by society

Why 2: Because it is assumed that a woman's ability to give birth equals the ability to care for children and, by extension, the ill and elderly.

Is that the kind of thing you need, Hully Jr?

Oooh ... sorry thread moving so fast I'm not sure if this has been said: but one thing is, a woman always know the child she gives birth to is her biological child. Unitl very recently, men could not know this. That's one reason why men would have a motivation to try to control women - so they could know that 'their' woman was having their children, and they weren't spending their effort raising a child that wasn't biologically theirs.

(Not an argument that sounds PC now, I know!)

And you do need to know Hullyson....when God made man she was joking

Because on the whole, human nature is more nature than humane. So the strong take from the weak. And for most of the time our species has been around, the only strength that mattered was muscle. And testosterone builds muscle and aggression. And a pregnant or nursing woman probably needs some help to survive. And maternity is never in doubt, whilst a male may only be confident of paternity if the female is too docile and subservient to stray.

Actually, tea Damon sounds like the basis for a good argument

Here's one way 'how' they were discriminated against Hully jnr... Until about 1945 women teachers and civil servants were required to either stay single or resign in favour of male breadwinners, ie. they had to give up their jobs if they married.

Heck, I'm 27 and I'm struggling with 'modalities'!

I did [hgrin] like it's haloween!

Pinot [hgrin]

Mother: well that's the reason he has been given this question I think. It's very ambiguous. How, suggests the ways in which it is manifested, why suggests to me the ways in which 'society' aids and abets and allows. Could be wrong though. If I was writing the essay I would take it from that perspective. Ie why has sexism been perpetuated...politics/ religion/ etc. Have been known to go very wrong with essays in the past though".....!

Friedrich Engels - Marxist 'feminist' - wrote about it in The Origin of Family Private Property and the state. I'm going to look it up.

Schobe - I agree, but the men in pagan religions still venerate women's power.

Let's synthesise the points so far

Women were regarded as intellectually inferior and therefore could be treated as the inferior sex.

Women are physically weaker and therefore men regarded them as needing protection.

Women give birth, a power which men were in awe of and thus needed to control/oppress.

Women are blamed for mankind's expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

As the most powerful group, men want to maintain that power.

That's five already!