Um, wow.

I think it is fair to say that before the rise of modern feminism and women's rights movements, women were marginalised but where in the world did you get the idea that women were seen as less than sapient creatures for sexual and domestic labour?

All of human history and cultures around the world is not a static wasteland of barbarism. Attitudes towards women varied from culture to culture and changed over time. As a matter of fact the idea that women functioned as little more than chattel with few contributions to society prior to the modern period is as misogynistic as it gets.

I could go on a long winded tirade about the ways in which women interacted with intellectual, artistic, spiritual and political life in what we would consider to be exceedingly misogynistic societies (Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe/Middle East) to relatively egalitarian societies (like Egypt and many other African societies) but that would really be kicking a dead horse.

I recommend checking out the FAQ on women. In particular I would highly recommend these sub-sections:

• Women as rulers

• Women as intellectuals and revolutionaries

• Women as warriors/In combat

Also see: Perceptions of gender and sexuality