What were the reasons for the ancient people's preference for men over women?

Causes

1, social

Men are naturally superior to women in physical fitness and other physiological aspects, and in the early stages of human evolution, greater physical fitness meant more sources of food and more chances of survival in tribal warfare.

2. Economy

Human beings have evolved a mindset that men have a natural advantage in socialization. Because men are physically superior to women, they are better able to work in farming, and in ancient times they were able to get more rewards for their upbringing, which also constituted an economic reason for parents' patriarchal thinking when resources were limited or even scarce.

Life customs

Patriarchal thinking can be expressed in some social cultures and customs.

For example, there are some rural areas in China where it is forbidden for women who have not given birth to a boy to attend a wedding. In East Asia, traditional funeral ceremonies include five garments, which are heavier for a paternal relative than for an equivalent maternal relative, such as an uncle, and heavier for a man than for a woman, even if they are also patrilineal or matrilineal relatives, such as an uncle than an aunt.

Some languages also show a preference for men over women. For example, in Chinese, "妇人之見" refers to the opinion of an uneducated person, and "妇人之仁" refers to kindness without consideration of the overall situation, which implies contempt for women's talents.

Patriarchal families

Some patriarchal families continue to have children until they have a boy, regardless of their ability to afford it. Some choose to have a boy through gender selection. In some places where the legal system is unsound, female babies are drowned. These phenomena can lead to a gender imbalance in the population, with the sex ratio of babies born in Guangdong province as high as 137.76.

The birth of a daughter in a family with strong patriarchal attitudes can lead to extreme disappointment and chagrin on the part of the father and even the grandparents. Even the average ones often believe that girls need to marry when they grow up and don't need to study too much, so they ask their daughters to drop out of school and work to earn money to pay for their brothers' education. In some lower-middle-class or working-class families, these parents do the same even if their daughters do well and their sons have no desire to study.

They also treat their sons and daughters differently, for example, prioritizing their sons over their daughters, who are expected to do more of the housework. In some extreme cases, sons are treated as babies, like little emperors in the house, while daughters are treated as servants and are often scolded.

On the other hand, when men are valued, it often means that they have to take on heavier responsibilities, and some families are particularly strict with their sons, and are stricter with their sons than with their daughters.

The above references? Baidu Encyclopedia - Patriarchy