In the Prologue, Ismene says, "We are only women, we cannot fight with men, Antigone." In the Prologue, Ismene says, "We are only women, we cannot...

Creon treats women as inferiors and does not like them to
oppose him. Antigone infuriates him because she stands up to him in front of others and
wins the opinion of the Choragos.

I do believe that
Antigone would have been treated differently if she had been a man. First, Creon is
furious when he discovers that not only has someone disobeyed his order about leaving
the body but that that person is a woman. Creon, as a new leader, does not want someone
questioning his authority, and it is especially damaging when a woman challenges him--it
makes him appear weak.

Similarly, if Antigone were not a
woman, Creon might have been more willing to listen to her reasoning for trying to bury
her brother's corpse.  But instead, Creon views himself as the logical one and wants no
explanation from his niece.

Antigone's being a woman also
complicates Creon's handling of her sentence.  If she were a man, Creon most likely
could have followed through with his threat to execute anyone who disobeyed his order,
but when he finds out that Antigone is the one who defied him, he is placed in a
precarious position.  She is able to garner sympathy and respect from the Chorus, the
Sentry, and from Creon's own son (Antigone's fiance).  If she were a man, Creon would
not look unusually cruel for following through with his order.