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Many have been the enemies of women seeing in her evil such as second-century theologian Tertullian who saw materialism as a basic sickness in the world. He had a dualistic view of life: light was opposed to dark, good to evil and spirit was opposed to matter. One's sexuality was the most basic expression of matter, and was seen as being in opposition to spirit and reason. Woman was the personification of corporeal sensuality and therefore, according to Tertullian and many other similar minded theologians, was basically evil.
John Chrysostom presented women as 'at least filthy' and Cyril of Alexandria reckoned them to be dull-witted. How else can we explain the fact that Mary Magdalene did not recognize the risen Christ? (Swidler, 343-4).
Thomas Aquinas saw women as misbegotten and deformed males. Due to this perverse biology, it was also believed that even in conception women were essentially passive. Males were created for the nobler works of the spirit and the intellectual life. Women were created with respect to their sexuality. It therefore presupposed that women should be subject to men, for women were seen to be less noble, less spiritual and weaker than men (Summa Theologica, I, 921).
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