I've heard that before animal domestication reproduction wasn't understood and people thought pregnancy was just a miraculous event. As such, it's said that women used to be more highly respected for this "magical" ability. After people began to understand the role of men in this, females began to be more strictly controlled in order to harness this activity in much the same way as their livestock. Subsequently women lost their exalted status and became second-class.

How accurate is this? Is there any way of knowing the reasons why women may have lost status due to reproductive coercion? What may have played a role in shaping these beliefs?