The Epidemiology of Female Hysteria and Its Modern Implications

This paper analyzes the epidemiology of the disease 'hysteria', once thought to be a uniquely female disorder affecting a woman's physical and mental states. As early as Ancient Egypt, a woman's reproductive system was a topic of pointed interest, later leading to conclusions on how the womb may 'wander' and how the mental state of any woman with hysteria must be treated with care. The progression of its diagnosis builds upon collective opinion, culminating in modern stigmas and stereotypes. I will define the parameters that transformed female hysteria from Ancient Egyptian gynecology to the modern day taboos of female sexuality, all through the lens that a woman's biology is radically different and perhaps inferior to that of a man's. I will trace this tragic domino effect within Ancient Egyptian and Greek societies, introduce the sway of Christianity during the Middle Ages, extrapolate on the social expectations of the Victorian Era, and finally culminate with the lasting effects that this classification of hysteria had on both 20th and 21st century women. I will then include a discussion on how, due to historical assurances of the fragility of a woman, there is now an implicit assumption that women are subject to being overwhelmed by their emotions more so than men. I will mention social studies which analyze gender norms in modern Western society to provide context for the apparent struggles of women attempting to break glass ceilings in politics, science, the arts, literature, and the military and frequently failing due to the expectations of their sex. Following this, I will speak on how derogatory speech directed at women, through interpersonal communication and mass media, conditions future generations to generalize women as being nothing more than an inherently "delicate sex". I will then speak on an implicit association survey that I created and distributed to my peers to measure whether or not there is still a strong association between women and immaturity, childishness, and an emotionally unpredictable pattern of behavior. The stereotypic labeling of women as suffering from hysteria, or any offshoot of insanity, has stained the manner by which women as a sex are appraised. Consequently, it has forged a defensive need to "prove" self-worth in almost all professional arenas if women are to be taken seriously in male dominated fields. I believe that the classification and influence of hysteria played a critical role in shaping modern gender bias and normalizing demeaning treatment of women due to their allegedly inherent female traits. I will conclude through highlighting the efforts of female activist groups and the surge of women's marches in the fall of 2016 and early 2017. The response demanded by women's marches today preaches equality of the sexes and a chance to right the wrongs of their hysterical history.