Sexism is not a part of Buddhist teachings. But it is a huge part of the cultural traditions of the countries where Buddhism is heavily practiced. And a lot of what passes for Buddhism in the west is merely cultural tradition from the host country of the teacher, cleaned up to sell books and retreats here. So like anything else, buyer beware. A strong and intelligent woman in a culturally backward country can indeed use Buddhist teachings to make the idiots back off. Likewise, western soccer moms in yoga pants have no idea how much Lama Buymybook would like to jump their bones if he could sneak away between meditations.
In a nonsexual example, early Tibetan Buddhist retreats in the west in the 70s were driving many westerns to despair and incredible anguish. It took years before the Dali Lama asked why westerners were suffering so much, and found out that the chants and specific meditations were triggering massive grief and abandonment issues in westerners, driving them away from the teachings.
He studied the matter and changed the overall approach to teaching westerners. He said it wasn't supposed to be that hard or traumatic, and he was shocked over what was going on. He said that family and village life in Tibet was absolutely stifling - it was almost impossible to ever be alone because the cold always drove everyone together into each other's personal space. So Tibetan Buddhist teachers created methods of personal isolation and contemplations of solitude that Tibetan monks found enormously freeing and refreshing, like taking a vacation.
But applied to the west, the techniques were so intense they drove already personally isolated westerners to madness levels of despair. No one really understood this situation even existed until this clash of cultures happened. After it was understood, Lamas started to emphasize the emotional balancing aspects of the teachings before retreats, and limiting their length and intensity for westerners. But the point is that none of these crucial issues had anything to do with the teachings of Buddhism - they were all cultural issues. Same with sexism.
I sure haven’t heard that from the teachers I know. Most are old school Tibetans who escaped Tibet in the ‘50s. My teacher has been involved in Buddhism here in the U.S. for over 36 years and he’s never told me anything like you’re talking about visa vie Buddhism in the west. And he loves to talk.
That was a fascinating comment, thanks.