In the brachos we say every morning, men thank God for "not making them a woman" (and women thank God for "creating them according to their needs").
Why don't both men and women just thank God for making them the gender that they are? Why do men thank God for not making them women, as opposed to thanking God for making them men? Further, why do women have an entirely separate bracha? Why don't they thank God for making them women?
Answer
"One must make the blessings 'that I was not made a Non-Jew', 'that I was not made a slave', and 'that I was not made a woman', for each one has an additional praise. First one says 'that I was not made a Non-Jew' who is not obligated in the commandments at all, and after that '...slave' who is obligated in some commandments, and after that '...woman' who is of Jewish lineage and obligated in all the commandments. Therefore the blessings must be said in order. If one said 'that I was not made a slave' first, one would not go on to say 'that I was not made a Non-Jew', and if one said 'that I was not made a woman' first, one would not go on to say 'that I was not made a slave' or 'that I was not made a Non-Jew', because 'two hundred includes one hundred', so since one already made a blessing on the greater thing, the lesser was already implied." -Chayei Adam 8:2
If we made blessings thanking G-d for making us men or women, we would only be able to say the one blessing instead of three.
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