Historical Perspective of Male Dominance

I want to briefly write about the historical perspective of male dominance that we discussed in class. Originally, humans had a hunter-gatherer society, where men and women were most likely equally valued. The men hunted while the women gathered, but neither role was seen as superior. When horticulture became popular, women still were viewed equally, as they helped with the farming and with the kids. Agrarian societies caused women to be valued less, because land ownership automatically fell into the hands of men. During the industrial revolution, women were forced to stay at home with the kids while men went out and worked. This further increased the division of the sexes.

The historical perspective also takes politics into account as to why men are superior to women. The hunting-gathering societies were most likely rules by privileged families as opposed to a single, chosen leader. This system gave women power as well as men. When the feudal system took over, the new found "state" governments had to find a way to control the people. By controlling the women, the governments could have control over production and reproduction; whereas controlling the men only gave the opportunity to control production.

The evolution of politics and the development of the division of labor through history make sense to me. I can see how the repression of women could be a gradual process. If the historical theory argues that female oppression is gradual, does this imply that Renaissance women were more free than the women of the industrial revolution? I am not sure that this is accurate. In the Renaissance, women were the property of men. They served mainly 2 purposes; to reproduce and to be icons of wealth. Women wore elaborate dresses, embroidered with their husbands' crests. The oppression of women is easily seen in Renaissance art, where women are painted in profile, without life-like characteristics. Leonardo Da Vinci is often seen as a feminist painter, because he was one of the first painters in history to give women personality and identity. I have a feeling that women during the industrial revolution were seen to have some identity instead of being considered void of personality. While the historical perspective of male dominance makes logical sense to me, I have a reason to doubt the theory.