Mimi Haddad gets it right on gender, identity, and equality
Here:
http://blog.cbeinternational.org/2014/03/male-and-female-one-image-one-purpose/
Quotable:
Scripture points to a “human essentialism,” which is not associated with gender. The fixed and unchangeable essence of humankind is that both male and female are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26–28)! And, to bear God’s image is an identity with a purpose: both Adam and Eve share authority in caring for the world. Scripture emphasizes not the differences between Adam and Eve but their unity and oneness. They share a physical substance, because Eve comes from Adam’s body. They also share God’s image, an essence that imparts a purpose—caring for the garden with shared authority and ruling over the animals, not over each other!