So, does psychology still use the term ‘hysteria’?Īcademia is slow-moving. Men can’t be treated for psychological distress.īoth genders could benefit from a dissociation between the ideas of ‘weakness’ and ‘woman’. Women are stuck with the idea that their problems come from their uteri. Weakness/unreasonableness → Hysteria →woman In turn, they could not (or would not) be treated for their psychological distress. Besides, they were supposed to be too strong for these ‘womanly’ diseases. Men could not be diagnosed with hysteria because they did not have wombs. I also think this is a fantastic example of the way that sexism is detrimental to both genders. The sexism of which we need to completely gut from our culture today. The sexism of which has been discredited on almost all fronts. One which repressed all sexual urges to the point of driving rape culture underground. One which believed sick or mentally unwell women would get better if their uteruses were better aligned. I believe this problem has roots in an old, outdated culture.
For women, reasonableness is simply not a social expectation. This horrendous catch-22 leaves us with only one socially acceptable option: smiling and acting warmly toward those around us is the only attitude considered appropriate for us. When we’re not upset, and instead feeling emotionally level, we’re considered cold. When we’re upset, we get asked whether we are on our period. Women are typically considered less reasonable. We as women still contend with this idea in current society. However, I believe that this idea is reflective of a cultural belief that women are simply less capable of being reasonable. Now that we know what we know about rape culture - that it thrives in the dark - I’m thinking we have more to thank Freud for than our Psych 101 professors teach us about.įreud aside, let’s look at the sexism behind the very word ‘hysteria’ and also the sexism behind the fear of talking about men with hysteria.įirst of all, the idea that women could have womb defects which caused physical and psychological symptoms of distress is ridiculous. Freud was one of very few academics (or people in general) who was willing to discuss sexual abuse. What is rarely discussed is the cultural context in which Freud studied. In the context of a rigid patriarchy where sex was considered unclean, both of these points of discussion were completely unapproachable for many people.įreud is often brushed aside in Psych 101 as a nutjob who attributed too many psychological phenomena to sex and sexual experiences. Freud, however, was not afraid to 1) address the traumatic roots of hysterical symptoms, which often had to do with sexual abuse 2) diagnose men with hysteria. Sigmund Freud (who did much of his work in the late 1800's in Europe, a time and place where sexual repression was an important part of the culture) used the term frequently in his notes and professionally published papers.
Hysteria has been an official diagnosis in psychology.
Hysteria comes from the Greek root hystera, meaning ‘uterus.’ Originally, it was believed that hysteria and hysterical symptoms were caused by a defect in the womb, and thus, only women could become hysterical. On the sexist etimology of “hysteria,” and what academia did about it
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