Female Hysteria Similar to masturbatory insanity, the disease of hysteria operated in a similar way in the nineteenth century to control women. According to Chamberlain (2013), hysteria occurred at a period, when women were given new options in the division of labour, such as teaching and nursing. A medical system was developed to emphasize that in men, the brain is a predominant organ of the body, whereas in women, the nervous and reproductive system is dominant; hence their role in society is to reproduce (White, 2008). Using the brain, therefore, threatens women’s primary role of the reproductive system and challenges the idea of essential difference. Women who suffered from symptoms such as nervousness, temperamental or hallucinations were enough to be diagnosed with a medical treatment in the Victorian era. (Tasca, Rapetti, Carta & Fadda, 2012). The medical treatment for this ‘disease’ often involved masturbation from a medical practitioner to release the sexual tension causing hysteria, and provide sexual relief resulting in "hysterical paroxysm," or orgasm (Tasca et al, 2012). The medical terms used in women’s medical health, signifies how…
“women are all crazy”, but how did this become about? For centuries, women have dealt with the constant misconception of their own brain and bodies. This misinterpretation, along with a great history of gendered bias, eventually brought about a new term in the early 1800’s - female hysteria. This term was essentially used to put a name to the way woman differentiated from men, since at the time society upheld a male prejudice against women. Despite the fact that all of the symptoms of female…
Female hysteria was a common disease in Western Europe for hundreds of years. The disease is a representation of physical and psychological symptoms that shift. It originally was thought of as a disease in specifically women that was brought on by the migration of the uterus, but it was quickly discovered that the Uterus did not “migrate.” Physicians and other educated men concluded that hysteria was a cover-up for whatever was bothering their female patients. The diagnosis of hysteria was seen…
Throughout the 19th and 20th century there was a widespread belief that women suffered from an illness called hysteria. Its definition states that it is a “psychological disorder” in which mental stresses can turn into physical symptoms such as “attention-seeking behavior[s]”. The origin of this word comes from the Greek word “hystera,” which literally means uterus. Thus this disorder was linked to women, specifically women whom men considered to be disturbed in some way if they did not conform…
Before the advancement of technology, psychological disorders such as Mass Hysteria was looked at as an enigma. Some people associated the symptoms with black magic, as it was a psychogenic illness which they had no explanation for. It is caused by extreme levels of stress and anxiety. Symptoms of Mass Hysteria are more commonly seen in women. The history of Mass Hysteria goes back to the middle ages. It was firstly thought of to be caused by a natural disease. Later on in the colonies, people…
Understanding Mass Hysteria and its Fundamental Characteristics The power of mass hysteria is so dangerous that it can create both physical and psychological situations that can take lives, change global politics and cause panic in hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Mass hysteria is when emotions, especially fear in a group of people are so strong that it leads people to act in an uncontrolled way. Some examples of mass hysteria are the Salem witch trials, the fear experienced by…
Do you believe that the country needs a government that has power over them? Or, are people better off with a government that adjusts to their will? In Michael Petry’s The Code Breaker, the Puppet Master does not believe that the government should hold the power to strictly implement laws and orders that control the people. The Puppet Master makes a solid argument that the government’s power needs to be limited because, left unchecked, government leaders are often corrupted by their own…
Hysteria was a very stimulating topic and many people wanted to write and read about it. It was also a topic that was discussed cross culturally. For example, “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by a female American writer while Madame Bovary was written by a male French writer. This showed that it was a prevalent topic across the world, and that both men and women were interested in exploring this ‘feminine’ disorder. Nineteenth century literature exposes the idea of hysteria not just a female…
In modern day, hysteria is still an idea that the patriarch contributes to women, but the term was replaced with crazy, psychotic, and neurotic. Women have fought to regain their agency and teach that female sexuality and desire is simply human sexuality and desire, and while the message has in theory been accepted, in practice there is still much push back. Any woman could attest to the demeaning words coined for women when they are empowered in their bodies and sexuality. Words such as ‘slut,…
journey through the Bakken Museum located here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book within the first chapter delves into the history and definition of hysteria. Maines presents the definition of the androcentric model - the idea that penile vaginal intercourse is “the only real thing” and should be capable of sexually satisfying (producing an orgasm for) both the man and woman involved. She goes on to say that this…