Quote Originally Posted by thir View Post
There simply isn't anything to point to, much less prove, that idea of man as protector and provider, and women as, excuse me, eternal parasites on his work, for so I must see it.
For those who try to refer everything back to animal models, it's worth pointing out that in almost every species I can think of, "protection" is what females do for their young. Folklore everywhere says that the most dangerous creature to threaten is a mother, whether it's a sheep or a lion. Males don't come into it.

Males that "protect" a mob of females (it doesn't happen in species that form couples) usually spend most of their effort "protecting" them against mating with other males. When it comes to predators, the group stands together.

"Man the protector", like "Man the provider" (and its counterpart, "Woman the brainless breeder"), is part of the Tarzan theory of human evolution, which was demolished decades ago in serious science but still thrives in pop textbooks.