Gender and Sex Manifestations in Hysteria Across Medicine and the Arts

Abstract

The diagnosis of hysteria has existed for at least four-thousand years, with roots in the ancient Greek word hysterikos, referring to diseases of the womb. In the sixteenth-century medical discourses, female hysteria was caused by excess pollution of the womb, with fluids that were labelled ‘female sperm' as the probable cause. In the work of Shakespeare, there is a reference to hysterica passio, a term used by King Lear to self-diagnose his affliction. Shakespeare shows how a disease associated with women, and the ‘wandering womb' phenomenon could have been spoken of in an associative way. At this time, there is a transformation of the nature of hysteria from a neurological consequence of the sick womb, to sexual deviance. Portrayals of the male deviant would evolve by the Victorian era, concurrent with the diagnosis of ‘spermatorrhea'. There are very direct correspondences between the hysteria of spermatorrhea and the notion in Western medicine of the direct links between female hysteria and too much or not enough sexual energy release. Hysteria in both sexes was famously diagnosed and catalogued by Jean-Martin Charcot at the end of the nineteenth century. By the twentieth century, hysteria was also depicted as a disorder of gender as well as sexuality. i 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel

Mass hysteria attack rates in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis

“…(1) Boys seemed to have a lower AR than girls, suggesting that gender may affect the risk of MH in children and adolescents. 40 The ARs for MH in boys and girls in the present study were very similar to those reported in previous studies. 40 , 41 Many studies 40 – 42 have shown that women/girls are more likely than men/boys to experience hysteria.…”

“… 40 The ARs for MH in boys and girls in the present study were very similar to those reported in previous studies. 40 , 41 Many studies 40 – 42 have shown that women/girls are more likely than men/boys to experience hysteria. (2) The meta-analysis identified three main trigger factors for MH in children and adolescents: water pollution, suspected food poisoning and supernaturalism.…”

Les démoniaques dans l'art: Charcot and the “hysterical saints”

“…This correlation was established in ancient Greece because most cases of hysteria occurred in women, but only in the 16 th century the term hysteria was regularly applied to designate such functional disorders. 1 2 3 4…”

“…A similar situation to the one experienced by patients with other neurological conditions, such as stroke and epilepsy. 1 2 3 4…”

“…This correlation was established in ancient Greece because most cases of hysteria occurred in women, but only in the 16 th century the term hysteria was regularly applied to designate such functional disorders. [1][2][3][4] In the middle age, hysteria gained a religious connotation, and the hysterical phenomenology was attributed to demonic possession or witchcraft. A similar situation to the one experienced by patients with other neurological conditions, such as stroke and epilepsy.…”