It could just be in how you read it, pbrown.
When I read "say it ain't so", I rather smiled. I interpreted it to mean, "Our women should not be in such dangerous positions. We should be protecting them."
In any case, it is not a put-down even if it was not meant in the endearing way I read it. There are just some things a man is much better at. For instance, if I am on the third floor of a burning building and see a ladder propped up, I really hope it is a big strong man heading up to save me, and not a woman. No offense intended, that's just the way it is.