Luther: “Men have broad and large chests, and small narrow hips, and more understanding than women..."

On the web page, Twenty Vile Quotes Against Women By Church Leaders from St. Augustine to Pat Robertson, the following Martin Luther quote is mentioned:

Men have broad and large chests, and small narrow hips, and more understanding than women, who have but small and narrow breasts, and broad hips, to the end they should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children. –Martin Luther, Reformer (1483-1546), Table Talk 

This quote is one of a number proving "Christianity produced a steady diet of misogyny for over 2000 years," put forth by a "former evangelical," now a "psychologist and writer." Her biography can be found here. She appears to still embrace some form of spirituality, but rallies against conservative Christianity. It's interesting that while her entry spans the entirety of church history, she chose a big picture of Martin Luther to head her blog post (pictured here also).

Let's take a closer look at the quote. It's easy to cherry-pick quotes from church history, especially with an agenda and self-imposed blinders. While Luther was not in any sense a modern-day feminist, he was not the simplicity of a few quotes strung together to make him "vile."  

Documentation

The quote has traveled far, found not only in a number of webpages, but published books as well. The webpage simply says, "Table Talk," while correct, isn't a helpful reference. Which Table Talk? There are multiple versions of the Table Talk, both in their original languages and later English translations. 

The bulk of this Table Talk comment was recorded by Luther's associate Veit Dietrich sometime in 1531. LW 54 states Dietrich "had a gift for getting the substance of Luther's remarks on paper" but was not always interested "in reporting the particular situation to which the Reformer was addressing himself" (LW 54:5). Such is the case with this remark. There is no context, at all. 

The comment can be found in WA, TR 1:19,

The original transcription was in a Latin / German mix (with the word "home" being in Greek, oikouros). "Keep house, and bear and bring up children" was not recorded by Dietrich, but appears to be an addition by John Aurifaber. Aurifaber did record some of Luther's comments, but only in the last year of his life, so he did not personally witness this remark. He relied on the notes of others, becoming, in essence, an editor of the primary sources. "Keep house, and bear and bring up children" appears to be an example of Aurifaber smoothing over the original text. In Dietrich's version, Luther is recorded as ending by saying women should stay home because they have big hips and wide buttocks to sit on. What was perhaps Luther making a crude comment in jest was smoothed over with the addition of "being homemakers and raising children." 

Aurifaber's popular German version  was the means by which the comment made it's way into English.  Aurifaber's German text reads,  

This German version was translated into English in the seventeenth-century, but further complicated things by combined two different Table Talk utterances together (80, 81):

Then the English was eventually revised in the eighteenth-century (similarly combining two different Table Talk entries). Eventually, some later English versions of the Table Talk separated the comment back to its isolated form. It appears the version being utilized by the feminist blogger actually wasn't taken from any of these, but rather a secondary source because of the uniqueness of the phrase "more understanding than women," The actual English versions of the Table Talk typically read, "more understanding than the women."

This particular Table Talk statement was included in Luther's Works (LW 54:8), combining Dietrich with Aurifaber's ending denoted by brackets. Notice also LW's smoothing over "latum podicem" with the obscure English rendering, "fundament."

Context

No. 55: The Difference Between Men and Women Summer or Fall, 1531

“Men have broad shoulders and narrow hips, and accordingly they possess intelligence. Women have narrow shoulders and broad hips. Women ought to stay at home; the way they were created indicates this, for they have broad hips and a wide fundament to sit upon [keep house and bear and raise children].”

Conclusion

Luther didn't write the Table Talk. Since the statements contained therein are purported to have been made by Luther, they should serve more as corroborating second-hand testimony to something Luther is certain to have written. The "former evangelical" using the quote would've given herself more credibility had she first documented the quote correctly, then, secondly, not used it at all, but rather utilized a quote with a context and a better pedigree (something actually written by Luther). From our current western pro-feminist zeitgeist, she would've certainly found some actual Luther quotes. 

The basic problem with the feminist using this quote is that it's selective in leaving out all the other positive things Luther said about women that don't fall in the category of "vile." Factor in also the comments Luther made about his wife (which would double the size of this entry). Did the "former evangelical" consider any of this evidence? I have my doubts. It's simply human nature, be it male or female, to vilify that which we're against, to treat people unfairly, especially if they've been dead for many centuries, lived in a different time period and in a different culture... that's the way discrimination works.  

From my contemporary perspective, I suspect the original source reveals Luther was probably making a crude joke. This though is only speculation. Regardless, it's not the sort of comment I approve of, even in jest.  Was it a "vile" quote against women? That depends. If one has a modernist sensitivity to anything that speaks negatively of women, even in jest, then, yes. If Luther was simply making a joke, humorists have made fun of the social and physical differences between men and women for centuries, relying on broad stereotypes.