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Interesting to read this from a different era where any hint of sex parity was absent.

I think at this point the commonly accepted answer for male dominance is some combination of insecurity (on the part of both sexes) and cultural conventions. Sexual dimorphism, whether physical or mental, has been ruled out.

It is, but I doubt that many who lived through this era would say that "any hint of sex parity was absent".

A friend related a story from about this time. Their parents were traditional--he worked and she ran the household. One day at dinner he dared opine that the sauce could use more salt. She picked up her ladle and gave him a sharp whack to the side of the head. And never again did that happen. Not parity exactly, but she got to do what she wanted to do in life, and she ruled her domain to a degree that most of us can only dream of (including today's women).