Logician,
You said “A statement of Chazal of such a nature will often be questioned by the meforshim and explained in a manner different enough from the superficial meaning to warrant what I wrote. While this statement clearly has practical ramifications relating to laziness, I’m confident in my assumption that I can easily find a mareh makom explaining it in a way which would make it far more ‘palatable’ for you.”
I’m sure you can find a Pshat by someone who lived later that will explain it in a way that is more in line with modern sensitivities (chances are that Pshat will have been written by someone who lived or lives in a time when such statements about the inferiority of women are no longer acceptable to the public- which sort of proves my original point)
2)”I have no issue with a statement of Chazal which says a common character deficiency of women. There are plenty about men, and plenty of praiseworthy ones about both genders too. This has nothing to do with either one being intrinsically inferior. As they have different natures, it only makes sense that they have different flaws, with different ramifications.”
The statements we are talking about like “women are lazy” etc. are statements on the intrinsic inferiority of women, don’t fool yourself . And that statement is a mellow one, there are ones that are a whole lot stronger that I won’t quote here out of respect.
3)”You may not understand the Rambam or Gemara, but it says nothing, in those cases, of being dumb or untrustworthy. Nor am I aware of the Halacha having changed”
Yes it does very clearly. From the way the Rambam writes about them it is apparent that he took for granted that women are less intelligent and inferior