A far better history of feminism.

"The next time you find yourself with a woman" he tells his male students, "Challenge yourself to find that spark of divinity that man can only achieve through union with the sacred feminine.
'The women smiled knowingly, nodding.
The men exchanged dubious giggles and off-colour jokes.
Langdon sighed. College men were still boys."
-- Chapter 74, Page 413, Da Vinci Code

http://www.users.bigpond.com/sarcasmo/sexpolitics/hystery.html

This account is derived from a women's monthly fashion magazine, and highlights the diversity, perversity and commonality of feminist claims. The Church of Wicca has a project that entails regaining female powers through deference to the Goddess Within. While the religion preaches equality, there is a hint of neo-hippy sexual debauchery, just to keep things interesting

[...]

An incident that is of particular interest is related to the building of a bridge in South Australia, which gained notoriety as the Hindmarsh Bridge Affair, involving the Australian Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Robert Tickner.[49] A bridge linking the mainland to an island, subject to tourist development, was not built because of protests by aboriginal women. Of great importance to the credibility of their objections to its construction was an important document detailing 'secret women's business'.

It is of some interest that a 'patriarchal capitalist' society with a development agenda ground to a halt because of one document, which could not be viewed by men, including male ministers. The document which detailed women's ancient fertility rites and secrets could only be viewed by female ministers and bureaucrats.

Undoubtedly the whole event was to some extent an orchestrated stunt gaining national political notoriety. However many people took it very seriously and it reveals that women of ancient societies probably had a special power over their own men, which appears to be related specifically to the mysteries of fertility. As a study of Aboriginal culture expressed in 1913:

"...ignorance of the result of sexual intercourse is not a primitive condition but is acquired by superstition, originating in the Female mind and accepted by the Male."[50] Women of ancient cultures are socially influential by the manipulation of men's incomprehension of women's complex physical functioning, mental processes, and their centrality to race survival. Such powers eventually evolved into witchcraft, and aspects of midwifery roles.
But it seems that this women's power also has an extraordinary influence over the contemporary Minister of Aboriginal Affairs who paid great deference to 'women's secret business.'[51]

[Maybe he didn't know where babies come from either. Maybe that's the reason for the wreck of the education system.]

There is no doubt that the study of the movement of Sun, Moon and stars was one of the great breakthroughs for humanity, in terms of understanding the periodicity of seasonal changes and the determination of optimal crop planting. Modern agriculture is utterly reliant on this work performed thousands of years ago. However, what is of some interest is that the natural science of astronomy was distorted from its beginning by the quasi-science of astrology. This activity has been used to befuddle the ignorant populace for centuries and allegedly even Kings....and Queens.

Astrology, an activity dominated by women, has used the movements and orientation of Sun, Moon and stars to make predictions about auspicious days for conducting war...or having an affair. It is effectively the women's science of manipulating gullibility. The ignorance of the general population about the predictive power of a quasi-science has helped to make them believe these spurious insights. Astrology allows a control over superstition and it is a realm that appears to have always been dominated by women both as clients and as agents. The Oracle of Delphi operating near Athens, is the most prominent ancient example of this art and the job was held by a female.

Undoubtedly the vast majority of soothsayers, card readers and astrologers today, and most of their clients, are still female. All women's magazines and many newspapers today include a significant section on star signs.

One can only conclude that women's power to manipulate public and private opinions and hopes goes back to the time when stars first appeared in the sky and women dreamed of meeting tall swarthy strangers.