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[acuteward]

It really does.

yes, lets remove this woman's hysteria by cutting out her reproductive organs. I find it so outdated and patronising. we don't call the removal of testicles a 'pervertectomy', instead THAT procedure has the very pretty and slightly odd name of  orchidectomy.

just a small rant.

[Lynne]

It really does.
yes, lets remove this woman's hysteria by cutting out her reproductive organs. I find it so outdated and patronising. we don't call the removal of testicles a 'pervertectomy', instead THAT procedure has the very pretty and slightly odd name of  orchidectomy.
just a small rant.

So they aren't removing your hyster when they do this operation?  :shock:

[acuteward]

hehehehehe.

[Lynne]

Iwe don't call the removal of testicles a 'pervertectomy', instead THAT procedure has the very pretty and slightly odd name of  orchidectomy.

Wouldja feel better if we renamed it a tulipectomy?   After all, it usually happens AFTER we've been deflowered.  

:shock:

Bah de BUM!!!

[CAS]

Wow... Lynne... No... Bad...

[femaledragon]

i once read (i think it was in the book Vested Interests) that women who were believed to be hysterical in the victorian time period were often treated with leeches. the leeches went inside the treated woman's vagina to theoretically "suck out the bad spirits"

sometimes when they went back to remove the leeches, they did not find them.

i never quite got over reading that. women sure have been treated poorly and strangely in the course of modern medicine.

[Dr Sketch]

Leeches??? :shock: JIBBLIES!!!!

I was doing some research on this, and you shouldn't be insulted at all.  Seriously.  A hysterectomy has nothing to do with removing "hysteria".  Lynne was (unknowingly) right, they remove the hystera, which is Greek for "womb".  So, literally, it is "removal of womb".

Now, hysteria is similar here; it was believed to be a disease caused by a disturbance in the womb.  Remember, this was at a time where physical and mental causes were believed to be one, so they thought that an issue caused in the female reproductive system was causing women to act strangely.  We're much more intelligent now: we KNOW you women are just plain crazy. :lol:

[femaledragon]

i think at the core of that word, there is still disrespect for women. i think they believed that women were generally prone to hysteria because of having a womb. i know i have read (i read a ton of old asylum books) that they considered menses and childbirth to be causes of insanity.
i think it might be a fear thing. men would be naturally intimidated by the female insides, and this fear and confusion could lead to false attributes being made about the functioning and nature of these "hidden organs."

maybe i will have time to google a bit today. can someone look up the definitions and background on words like "hysteria" and "hysterectomy"

i bet there are some feminists books that talk about this. some milder ones may give some great history.

[Dr Sketch]

Deep Breath.  Deep Breath.  Ok, I'm fine now.

Like I said in my previous post, hysteria was so named because they thought it was a mental disorder stemming from the womb.  It (originally, before "great" people like Freud) was NOT considered insanity, it was more like a state of high stress and anxiety.  In a sense, it is still true; many women who are menstruating DO have higher stress and anxiety, and it is a direct result from the body being flooded with hormones.  Hormones that the male body does not produce.  Also, childbirth CAN cause mental disorders; among other disorders, the most identifiable is postpartum depression.  That is not sexist, nor disrespectful, that is the way your body is built.

Instead of repeating the definitions and backgrounds that I have already provided, I will only ask that you go back and re-read what I wrote above; specifically where I explain the root "hestera" as it relates to both hysterectomies and hysteria.  Please.  PLEASE.  I already have done the leg work, all you have to do is just read it.

As for feminist books... it's hard for me to answer without starting a flame war, so I will only say that they would be, at the least, slightly baised.  It would be like reading "Mein Kampf" to get an accurate history on Judiasm.  There may be some nuggets of truth there, but they'll be so wrapped up in opinion...  Ok, gonna stop that now before it gets out of hand.

[Kadee]

i  i think they believed that women were generally prone to hysteria because of having a womb. i know i have read (i read a ton of old asylum books) that they considered menses and childbirth to be causes of insanity.
 
 .

Were they really to far off though?  I mean not to the extreme of insanity  of course, but look at PMS do to the monthly cycle, and Post Partum Depression caused by child birth, not to mention the mental effects of Menopause.  All do to having a womb,   Many mental issues revolve around the female reproductive system.  Wouldn't the doctors of yester-year look at these symtoms,  we full well know to be PMS, PPD, Menopause etc.now,  but then  believe that a woman may not be mentally fit.  These things can make you do and say crazy things if there extreme.

[chrissie]

Sketch you're so right. After I had my son, I went into severe depression. I would cry for hours, even when my son was sleeping and I couldnt control it. For a while (as bad as this sounds) I was thinking of giving him to anyone who would take him..

I can clearly remember one evening he wouldnt stop crying and it was like 3 am... I was thinking if I threw him out the window, I would get rid of the "problem"... I think back now and am freaking shocked that I had those thought (and so damn ashamed).. Though I now know it was no fault of my own, it was my body trying to deal with being pregnant for almost 10 months and BAM I'm not anymore and hormones ripping and running trying to find a place to go, since the baby was gone.. I was tormented day and night by thoughts of leaving him, hurting him -- constant crying and even pondering if I could up and leave him and my husband forever!!!


But, at the time, those thoughts seemed seemed rational and even promising. Luckily my depression subsided when he was about 3 months old. I am one of the lucky one.. Many, MANY women have it for a long time and some even hurt the children...

This resulting from hormones!!! I would not have had those thoughts or emotions on a normal day... Twas resulting from my pregnancy (my womb!! )  

Sketch... again, very, very intelligent you are... :-)

[femaledragon]

 .

Were they really to far off though?  [/quote]
well, depends on how you look at it. yes, hormones are very strong and can cause some irrational behavior indeed. males are prone to this too, often just in different ways (example: horny teenage boys.)
the reason i brought this up relates to the asylum annual reports that i collect from ebay. many of them have charts showing what ratio of patients were committed for what causes. i found "childbirth," "menses" and "religious excitement" extra amusing.
i really should dig up the book with the leeches for you guys and tyep out some of the text. i read it over 13 years ago and there surely must be more goodies in there.

[femaledragon]

chrissie-i find your story fascinating. i remember seeing a movie with molly wringwald years ago where she has post partum. in the storyline she was depressed from the childbirth and the trauma/stigma of being a very young woman with a baby. she didn't want anything to do with the baby, but later a robber climbing around on the fire escape made her feel protective of the child and that seeemed to break the rejection feelings.
i am amazed at your honesty about what you experienced. you must be a very strong person, most people would not have strong enough egos to admit these feelings. i am glad to hear those feelings are past. i know it must have made you feel so confused and guilty. hormones are indeed strong chemicals.

[chrissie]

I dont know.. I am not insulted by the term.. Honestly, if you think back to days when technology wasn't so fine tuned - You see a raging woman freaking out (whether just from her period --- or after childbirth) you would think she's hysterical!

Imagine the woman freaking out during her menses... (I know I do, and don't realize I've done it until my menses is off!!! -- Then I have to apologize to my husband whom I was an evil snake too!!) Or imagine her crying her face off and trying to harm herself or her baby after birth... That, to me, is reason to be admitted!! (Though now we know WHY it happens is because of hormones...) They did NOT know this back in the day...

It was hysterical behavior... Makes sense to me and is in no way offensive. It was thought up and named before my time.. Before they knew exactly why women acted the way they do... :-)



***Edit.. I typed this up before I saw you posted to my last message...

Thank you for your kind words :-)

I have no problem being honest about what happened to me. I know it was not my fault. I think, honestly, that that is what made me get well so much quicker. What is sad is MANY, MANY women suffer with this type of depression and they feel they have no where to go.. They're afraid if they tell someone about how they feel, then everyone will think they're a bad mother.

Look at that woman that drown all 5 of her children about a year or two ago. She had SEVERE post partum depression. Her husband knew it when she had only the 2, but kept pushing her to have more and more. One day, when he was @ work... she drown them all. Now her life is destroyed and her children gone. It's a very sad thing.

[bakenate]

I am 25 years old and have had a complete hyst. for weeks following i did nothing but cry and become enraged. Did i have control over this no. It was hormones. for those that dont know a full hyst is the removal of uterus and cervix. At times overies are removed too. i have one left. Do i find the term offensive. absolutly not. So i am wondering if the op has had this procedure done? For the simple fact that when you are done being gutted of your womb you are in hysteria. I felt like less of a woman becasue of being gutted. IF i hadnt had it done, I very well could have ended up at cancers door. I for one would rather live to see my kids. Quite frankly the name fits how you feel after having this procedure. As for child birth i suffered sever ppd after having my children. jmo!