Originally Posted By: Susan
"Roles were dictated by the requirements of pregnancy in women, and every division of labor results from that."

You only mentioned half the issue. Men are stronger than women, and strength was usually seen as superiority.

I have often wondered which came first here: did men have greater burst strength and therefore take the "strength" roles, or did the biological imperatives of pregnancy in women force men into the strength role, with greater burst strength evolving through natural selection?

I was speculating that role assumptions made over *very* long periods - far into pre-history - might have shaped their behavior in ways that run counter to current assumptions.