Remember in the Shadow Rising, where Rand goes to Rhuidean and sees through his ancestors eyes!  The first time the spears were used was when they were broken in half to make it easier to maneuver.  Im sure it has been modified since but essentially it is a spear with only half the shaft.  Similar to the Roman pilum, since they were able to carry 3 or 4 at a time.  Perhaps a little firmer so as not to bend when used as a stabbing weapon or for blocking.

I don't think it has anything to do with being sexist.  It has to do with how he was raised.  He was raised to believe that violence should not be done to women.  I was also raised this way and totally agree with the two rivers' boys.  I would much rather kill a man than a women (not that I want to kill a man or a woman).