dinah,
Maybe I misunderstood your first post, but I thought you were suggesting that the canonical Gospels did belittle the role of women like Mary Magdalene, by portraying them as "sinners" or having only the Twelve (men) attending the last supper for instance.
I just meant to point out that you are dependent on the very same "sources" (the Gospels) to portray Jesus as kind to women...