No, I have to go with Roger here. Absolutely women have historically been oppressed. It wasn't some women, it was virtually all women.
For instance, Queen Elizabeth I said, on the eve of the Armada battle, "I may have the weak body of a woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England, too." She couldn't be a woman and rule England (a fact of primogeniture that was only changed with the birth of Princess Charlotte) so she styled herself as a King in a female body.She...the most powerful individual in England...spent most of her reign fighting men who wanted her safely married and quiet. In a culture where women (even a Princess of the Blood) were only allowed to own property if they were widowed (and even then men could easily steal it from them, leading to centuries of convoluted land laws in Britain) Elizabeth oppressed other women just as often as she was oppressed.
That's one example of a woman in power from the aristocracy...allegedly of the powerful some men and some women. There's literally endless more examples I could give, from any century, any country, and any social strata.
Our basic laws and traditions are rooted in misogyny. Women take their husband's name upon marriage. Even today it is uncommon not to do so. But why? Why is his family name more important or worthwhile than mine? Why does his name always come first on contracts even though I have a degree and he doesn't? I could keep going.
