女性

按 Bible 在西方文化中之地位，《創世紀》可看作是西人文化之原典。

上帝造人見第一章：

26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.

這裡沒有細節，說“God created man”，這裡的“man”當為“人”。因其後即說上帝所造為男女。此可見男女平等。此處概述，我細節描寫。

但是第二章又說：

5 When no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not [yet] caused it to rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the ground,
6 But there went up a mist (fog, vapor) from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground—
7 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being.

此叙述上帝以泥造人，吹氣使之活。與中華女娲造人類似。此處尚見不出男女之分，聯系後文知僅僅為男人。此等處就分出東西文化之差異。女娲當亦依自形而造人，然我中華傳說女娲造人乃批量生産，男女、妍媸、殘整皆有。絕無女為男之意味，絕不類此章後文所言：

18 Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.
19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every [wild] beast and living creature of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name.
20 And Adam gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the air and to every [wild] beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh.
22 And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man.

以今日眼光讀之，頗覺難以接受。非曰其中神怪處難于接受，其對對女性之态度過于偏頗。女性完全成了男性之附庸。

第6章中前4節如下：

1 WHEN MEN began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,

這還是把女性當男性之附庸看。

2 The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives of all they desired and chose.

此更惡，女性成玩物矣。

3 Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not forever dwell and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be 120 years.
4 There were giants on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

我讀此節，頗懷疑 Son of God 是惡人，是壞蛋。“the sons of God lived with the daughters of men” 讓我想到古典文學中惡霸強搶民女。

然此等思想亦深入人心矣，非但那些如此，女性以自覺為附庸也，君不聞如是之言乎：“給他生個孩子。”“還想我為你/他生兒/孩子？”

自立何其難哉。