Before: Yet there are still many conservative Christian churches that vehemently argue that this distinction and subordination of women should be upheld. They cite Genesis as evidence that by creating man first, God was making a statement that the dominant gender is male. It therefore is interesting to go back to the text and analyze how this story, which is a relatively small and contained narrative, has truly affected ideologies of gender norms in the Christian context.
After: A woman's place is beneath a man. This is not meant to be an insult to women--they are still equally important in God's creation, they are just meant to serve a different role than men. Whereas men are made to lead and have dominion over the world, women are supposed to submit to the will of their fathers and husbands. This is as clear as day in the creation story of Genesis. God creates man first and gives him dominion over all the creatures that walk the Earth, and then he makes woman to be his helper. If the first woman was made to serve the first man, then as good Christians we should model this behavior and raise our daughters to serve their husbands just like Eve serves Adam.
This mentality of gender hierarchies as established by Genesis 1-3 is pervasive in many Christian contexts. But is it a true understanding of the Genesis story? I am interested in analyzing what elements of this story are used to support oppressive ideologies such as these and determine if man's dominance over women is the true thesis of the creation story.