The superiority of male over female is first mentioned in Scripture as an inevitable consequence of sin not as an inherent quality or right. In the post-Fall order of things God said man would exploit woman's natural "helpmate desire"toward him, or more probably, he would retaliate in the face of her "desire"(cf. Gen. 4:7) to dominate and lead him in order to dominate and subjugate her (Gen. 3:16b). The subjugation of either women or men is a symptom of mankind's fallen nature (cf. e.g., pagan religions).
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