Some were wondering whether men's oppression was a historical constant (Titanic example), and whether it may have evolutionary roots (i.e. women being more valuable because of their ability to give birth, and therefore men being genetically programmed to be "second class citizens") : http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/bpjst/men_were_already_suffering_enough_before/

This unlikely topic (although without the evolutionary part) was visited in 1971 by Esther Vilar in The Manipulated Man. I found a PDF of the book here: http://dontmarry.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/the_manipulated_man.pdf

Esther kept receiving death treats for this book for over 30 years, so you know she must have been onto something :) (although I don't agree with everything she has to say, she does make some very interesting observations)

Some excerpts:

  • On men's natural instinct to be enslaved: "He is able to make himself believe that his senseless enslavement to woman and her hostages is more than an act of honor, it has a higher purpose. He is entirely happy in his role as a slave and has arrived at the goal he has so long desired."

  • On American men: "no other man is so thoroughly manipulated as the American male. No other society exists where the male sexual drive is exploited for money so unscrupulously. Nobody except the American woman so shamelessly professes a creed of profit under the guise of love. This simply means that American women, more than other women, fail to consider men as fellow human beings."

  • On feminism: "misled women to the wrong strategy. And they were not aware of it. Their struggle was aided almost exclusively by men. But since they live under the delusion that they are persecuted by men, they mistook the flexibility of men for a sign of female strength and screamed that much louder. Women's Liberation saw most of their demands fulfilled immediately."

  • On men's clothing (as an indication of their only purpose in society: to work): "men wear a kind of uniform made of durable, stain-resistant material in brown, blue or gray. These uniforms, or `suits,' have up to ten pockets, in which men carry instruments and tools indispensable for their work. His hair style requires only fifteen minutes at the barber every two or three weeks. Curls, waves, and tints are not encouraged as they might hinder his work. Men often work in the open air or spend a considerable amount of time in it, hence complicated styles would be a nuisance. [...] Generally a man uses an electric razor for about three minutes every morning to keep his beard in check. For his skin, soap and water are considered good enough. All that is required is cleanliness and an absence of make-up so that everyone can see what he is like. As for his fingernails, they should be as short as possible for work."