The Enslavement Of the Better Sex

Why did misogyny emerge? There is a pretty strong case against it in the early human societies. By all accounts, it looks like our tree-hugging ancestors used to pork each other on every occasion finding no particular reason to get on each others nerves just because someone was doing a spread-eagle with someone else. The deranged, almost certifiably dangerous, fascination with the act sticking one's nose where it, quite literally, didn't belong, seems to have emerged at a much later time with the invention of the civilized existence, you know, permanent settlements, cereal-producing economies, organized warfare, constant pillaging, raping and such. 

The stepping stone was the invention of slavery. The early hunter-gatherers had very little use for it. A slave was just another mouth to feed, essentially incompatible with the nomadic lifestyle. Captured enemy warriors were most certainly killed or, on rare occasions, allowed to join the tribe. Then came along the ability to overproduce food and this changed the entire equation. It was now possible to feed the slaves and force them into horrendous labor conditions. Slaves were also useful for other, more personal ends.

The next step is quite obvious - the rise of masculine strongmen quickly decreased the status of females to the objects of male fantasies (not necessarily just sexual) and occasional child-bearers. The social status of women devolved to something similar to a slave - they were second-class citizens in most ancient societies, rarely regarded as human beings even by the monumental thinkers like Plato, treated and traded like an everyday commodity. An ancient father was in the complete charge of his daughter's until another man, owning the necessary number of sheep, goats or some other sort of grazing mammals, would cheerfully purchase the said daughter, obtaining full custody over her fate. Much like one would sell his vehicle to any qualifying suitor these days totally surrendering its fate to the new owner. The new owner could then rape her at will, beat her up for mere insubordination, force insufferable toils unto her and even mutilate her sexual organs. 

My gentlemen readers, what we did to our gentle partners in life - the very ones who struggled by our side through the darkness of Plato's cave, who fiercely defended our right to exist on the face of this planet against a stupefying assortment of fanged predictors, who died in pain bearing our large-headed offspring, who were our unconditional companions as mothers, sisters and lovers  - is simply despicable. For no apparent reason we turned on them, shackled them down like rabid animals and beat them into subordination with the mercilessness reserved only to a ravaging aggressor. Never has been this traitorous act captured as brutally and symbolically as in the The Rape of the Sabine Women. Yes, the Roman Civilization, the crown jewel of the Western thought, started with nothing more but a ruthless aggression against women.

For eons our dear, patient, fragile partners suffered in silence, deprived of even the basic rights - human dignity, education and social participation. The evildoers have left little written records about their evil deeds. We owe our women a retribution of an astronomical size! No genocide or holocaust in human history comes even close to the evils perpetrated against the better sex over the past several thousands of years.

They say every civilization is judged by the way it treats its weakest citizens. If this is true, we, my fellow men, will be judged very harshly indeed.