Are Tolkiens Books Sexist?

[Gwaihir the Windlord]

the women are or are not strong/admirable and so forth but that they play such a secondary role and that there are fewer of them.

Lord of the Rings is largely concerned with war. Of course there's going to be a lot more men than women in that case, because women aren't fighters on the front line, and in a vaguely mediaval society such as that of Middle-Earth, not involved in battle in any way. Eowyn is a romantic add-on that brings some more complexities and interest to the book.
Tolkien wasn't sexist, he just told it realistically. You can hardly blame him for having more men that women in a book about war.

[ January 23, 2002: Message edited by: Gwaihir the Windlord ]