Social constructs?

Sexism is as old as the human race... Woman just don't understand the raging hormone that is testosterone. Need to conquer, hold and protect what is yours... Territorial etc....
There is a spectrum of these urges, based on social norms and expectations etc. But we can't have children! You don't want to kill and animal and eat it raw... Each with their own burdens, I guess.

I think you hit the nail right on the head with testosterone. Being in gyms for a large part of my life and reading on how the chemical changes the brain is interesting. It is absolutely the warrior hormone. The reason why removing religious perspective doesn't enhance a man's ability to see a woman as an equal is because they are not removing a misogynistic idea, they are just remove a misogynistic moral compass. Most men then gravitate towards an even more aggressive interpretation of life or survival like a Darwainian a "Survival of the fittest" which only perpetuates the problem. Consciousness isn't gender based. It's learned intently and most people just aren't conscientious. Regardless of gender.

Even though I was never really a believer, I realized as I got older that a lot of the cultural views I'd picked up were actually based on religion. I think societal ideals are insidious and we often don't consider their origin or validity. Of course, it would have been difficult for me to determine that so much was influenced by religion, if I hadn't studied some out of curiosity.i

Atheists are mostly deconverts from one of the Abrahamic faiths, which are patriarchal and sexist. And even the atheists that aren't deconverts, exist in a social milieu that is steeped in and dominated by those religious memes. There is no reason to expect that atheists are especially immune to those influences. Anyone in that environment has to push back and work to exise bad assumptions and attitudes from their thinking.

There are always going to be some who subscribe to something for no other reason than it benefits them.

Exaggerated power of dimorphism?

I would offer, if I may, that sometimes sexism exists because of the cultural norms that, while based on religious dogma, have and will remain present for a long time (because people as a whole don't see them as being related to religion).

Just my 2 cents

With the religious right holding considerable sway in the white house right now, religion is trying to mold society even more.

Is kind of curious myself. Sexism seem alive and well in other society as well. Religion might not be the reason, it just might tap sexism as a recruiting tool. You see sexism in science as well. Rosalind Franklin is probably one of the most famous cases.

I think religion is used to enhance sexism. I don't think religion created sexism.

And people are jerks. White people, black people, brown people, Republicans, Democrats, fans of the Cubs, fans of the Dodgers, Jews, Catholics, Baptists, Hindus, pagans and on and on.

People don't need much of an excuse to want to fall into an -ism.

It should be noted for the purposes of this discussion that there is a big difference between what goes on in the bedroom and what goes on in the boardroom.

Women still fantasize about being swept away by muscle bound beefcakes who ride in on white stallions. If this weren't the case, romance novels wouldn't be, far and away, the most lucrative selling genre on the planet.

Men, on the other hand, still fantasize about being that muscle bound beefcake who rides in on a white stallion. Watch any male centric hollywood action film sometime and you can virtually guarentee that there will be some sort of lame romance sub plot tacked on where the hero rescues a damsel in distress.

The truth is, when it comes to what goes on in the bedroom, we're all basically still apes.

Fortunately, in developed countries, this dychotomy no longer bleeds over quite as much in to the work force. If it did, we'd still be using mules to plow the fields and throwing our shit out of our windows in to troughs in the streets.

It is entirely possible for women in developed nations to hold positions of authority and prominent responsibility these days, although we still need to close that stupid, ever present wage gap.

Geeze.... i don't see this in my friends. I know its out there. Just not in my neck of the woods. Or in my jobs. I stood next to females that knew what they were doing. Like starting up equipment and looking for problems. Tearing down equipment and rebuilding it to spec. That includes the machine of parts. I think its ashame that females are listed as weak. Ive never met this in females that i dated or married. If anything i helped them with thier courage to expand the horizon. My second wife. I bought her a Harley. Thats after i helped her understand how to drive a motorcycle. My third wife just learned how to drive my diesel truck. Its over 30 foot long. We learn and we teach. Thats my motto.