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Race, women and health · Claim record

The Watchtower stated in 1951 and again in 1952 that 'man and woman were not created equal in power and glory; the man came first and was given special prerogatives', and in 1952 added that 'women who rebel at it are not so much rebelling against men as they are against God'. The 1952 passage is the published answer to a reader who asked whether men should tip their hats to women; the answer was that they should not.

Claim ID claim-attitudes-1951-1952-not-created-equalConcerns 15 April 1952Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 15 April 1952 Verified

The Watchtower stated in 1951 and again in 1952 that 'man and woman were not created equal in power and glory; the man came first and was given special prerogatives', and in 1952 added that 'women who rebel at it are not so much rebelling against men as they are against God'. The 1952 passage is the published answer to a reader who asked whether men should tip their hats to women; the answer was that they should not. The Watchtower, 15 April 1952The Watchtower, 1 May 1951

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The 1951 article that first carried the sentence also stated that 'there is absolutely no warrant in Scripture for domestic dictatorship, bossism or domineering brutality on the part of a husband' and that 'women are not cows or pieces of property'. The organisation's current teaching is that God 'did not make men more intelligent or more talented than women'.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers”

15 April 1952 · pp.254-256 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“Man and woman were not created equal in power and glory; the man came first and was given special prerogatives. As Jehovah is the head over his wifely organization, and as Christ is the head over his espoused church, so the man is the head over the woman. It is the woman that is commanded to show respect and recognition of the man's position of headship, and women who rebel at it are not so much rebelling against men as they are against God.”

The passage is the organisation's published answer to a reader's question, 'Is it proper for men to tip their hats to women?' The answer traces the custom to chivalry, says that Satan 'has pushed the woman ahead of the man', and concludes that a man should not raise his hat to a woman.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full column was fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read; the quoted paragraph falls immediately after the library's page marker for page 254. The citation code inside the document reads 'w52 4/15 pp. 254-256'.

Corroborated by. src-wom-w-1951-0501-making-success-marriage

Notes. The version of this passage that circulates on secondary sites carries two transcription errors: it reads 'his wifey organization' for 'his wifely organization' and 'so the man I the head over the woman' for 'so the man is the head over the woman'. The wording above is taken from the organisation's own library text. This is a Questions From Readers ruling, which in this period carried the weight of a direction to congregations.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wom-w-1952-0415-qfr-hat-tipping

Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Making a Success of Marriage”

1 May 1951 · pp.276-279 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“Man and woman were not created equal in power and glory; the man came first and was given special prerogatives.”

The sentence opens a section headed ‘WIVES IN SUBJECTION TO HUSBANDS’, which applies 1 Timothy 2:11, 12 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 and says that women ‘should not openly dispute, debate or wrangle over a matter and thus challenge and disgrace the man’s position of headship’. The same article rejects the opposite extreme in equally plain terms on p. 278: ‘There is absolutely no warrant in Scripture for domestic dictatorship, bossism or domineering brutality on the part of a husband.’ It adds: ‘Women are not cows or pieces of property that become exclusive possessions of husbands to do with them whatsoever they please.’

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full article was fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read. The page was taken from the library's own page markers: the section heading and the quoted sentence fall between the markers for pages 277 and 278, so the sentence is on p. 277. The article's citation code inside the document reads 'w51 5/1 pp. 276-279'.

Corroborated by. src-wom-w-1952-0415-qfr-hat-tipping

Notes. This is the earlier of the two places where the 'not created equal in power and glory' sentence appears; the better-known 1952 version is a separate article.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wom-w-1951-0501-making-success-marriage

Claim page Correct or update

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-attitudes-1951-1952-not-created-equal/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.